Method and system for automatically streamlining the vehicle claims process

ABSTRACT

To automatically streamline a vehicle claims process after a vehicle is damaged in a crash, crash information for the damaged vehicle may be compared to collision data to determine a total cost for repairing the damaged vehicle. A treatment facility for performing the repairs may be automatically selected from several treatment facilities, based on the capability of the treatment facility and whether the facility agrees to repair the vehicle for the determined cost. Once a treatment facility is automatically selected, the damaged vehicle may be transported to the selected treatment facility, and funds may be transmitted to the owner of the damaged vehicle to cover the cost of repair.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing dateof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/023,711 entitled “SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED VEHICLE REPAIR TRIAGE,” filed on Jul. 11, 2014,the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated byreference. Additionally, this application is related to the followingapplications:

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/627,076, entitled “METHODAND SYSTEM OF GENERATING AND APPLYING REPAIR CODES TO ESTIMATE COST OFVEHICLE DAMAGE” and filed concurrently herewith;

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/627,092, entitled “METHODAND SYSTEM OF USING SPATIAL SENSORS ON VEHICLE FRAME TO DETERMINE CRASHINFORMATION” and filed concurrently herewith;

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/627,104, entitled “METHODAND SYSTEM FOR COMPARING AUTOMATICALLY DETERMINED CRASH INFORMATION TOHISTORICAL COLLISION DATA TO DETECT FRAUD” and filed concurrentlyherewith;

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/627,139, entitled “METHODAND SYSTEM FOR CATEGORIZING VEHICLE TREATMENT FACILITIES INTO TREATMENTCOMPLEXITY LEVELS” and filed concurrently herewith; and

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/627,145 entitled “METHODAND SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYING AN INITIAL LOSS REPORT INCLUDING REPAIRINFORMATION” and filed concurrently herewith,

the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a system and a method fortreating a vehicle damaged in a crash, and more particularly toautomatically performing the vehicle claims process from the time anaccident occurs until the policy-holder receives compensation for theloss.

BACKGROUND

Every year, vehicles are involved in collisions that result in varyingamounts of damage to the vehicle. If the damaged vehicle is insured, aninsurance claim is usually filed shortly after the collision. Thedamaged vehicle is typically brought to a location where an appraisal orassessment of the damage is made. Depending on the extent of the damageand the treatment facility where the damaged vehicle was brought, thedamaged vehicle may then need to be further transported to a differenttreatment facility that is capable of performing the necessary repairs,or in the case where the damage is too costly to repair, to a salvage ora scrap facility. Additional costs are incurred when the damaged vehicleis brought to a first location for the initial appraisal and then to asubsequent location for the repair or salvage. By determining the extentof damage to the vehicle and the corresponding treatment shortly after acollision, the time and costs involved to currently process an insuranceclaim may be reduced.

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first example aspect of the invention, a method forautomatically streamlining a vehicle claims process is provided. Themethod includes receiving crash information about a damaged vehicle,determining a treatment complexity level for treating the damagedvehicle based on the crash information, wherein the treatment complexitylevel represents a degree of difficulty associated with treating thedamaged vehicle, and determining a cost associated with treating thedamaged vehicle. The method further includes automatically selecting atreatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle based on thetreatment complexity level, transmitting information associated withtransporting the damaged vehicle to the selected treatment facility, andtransmitting funds based on the determined cost to an account for anowner of the damaged vehicle.

In accordance with a second example aspect of the invention, a systemfor automatically streamlining a vehicle claims process includes acommunication network and one or more computing devices communicativelycoupled to the communication network, each of the one or more computingdevices having a memory and one or more processors. At least one of thecomputing devices is configured to receive crash information about adamaged vehicle via the communication network, and determine a treatmentcomplexity level for treating the damaged vehicle based on the crashinformation, wherein the treatment complexity level represents a degreeof difficulty associated with treating the damaged vehicle. At least oneof the computing devices is further configured to determine a costassociated with treating the damaged vehicle, transmit, via thecommunication network, information associated with transporting thedamaged vehicle to the selected treatment facility, and transmit, viathe communications network, funds based on the determined cost to anaccount for an owner of the damaged vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures described below depict various aspects of the systems andmethods disclosed herein. It should be understood that each figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed system andmethods, and that each of the figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingfigures, in which features depicted in multiple figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a general overview of a vehicle treatment system for treatinga vehicle damaged in a crash;

FIG. 2 depicts an example vehicle treatment process capable of beingimplemented in the vehicle treatment system illustrated in FIG. 1 inaccordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 3 depicts an example method for gathering or receiving crashinformation in accordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 4 depicts an example method for estimating the extent of vehicledamage in accordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 5A depicts an example method for determining the treatmentcomplexity level of the damaged vehicle in accordance with the presentlydescribed embodiments;

FIG. 5B depicts an example table of damage repair codes for estimatingthe cost of repairing vehicle damage in accordance with the presentlydescribed embodiments;

FIG. 5C depicts an example damaged vehicle including repair codes forvarious vehicle parts in accordance with the presently describedembodiments;

FIG. 5D depicts an example method for estimating the cost of repair fora damaged vehicle in accordance with the presently describedembodiments;

FIG. 6A depicts an example method for determining the treatment facilityin accordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 6B depicts an example method for identifying treatment facilitiesas in FIG. 6A in accordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 6C depicts an example method for ranking vehicle parts suppliers inaccordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 6D depicts an example method for treating the damaged vehicle inaccordance with the presently described embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting a mobile computing device, anon-board computing device, a server device, and a communication networkthat may configured in the example system for treating a damaged vehiclein accordance with the described embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example mobile computing device,on-board computing device, and/or server device capable of beingimplemented in the system shown in FIG. 7;

FIGS. 9A-C depict example embodiments of displayed information on theuser interface of the computing device(s) in accordance with thepresently described embodiments; and

FIG. 10 depicts an example method for automatically streamlining thevehicle claims process in accordance with the presently describedembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A vehicle treatment system utilizes crash information of a vehicleinvolved in a crash to approximate the extent of damage to the vehicleand determine a treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle. Theestimated vehicle damage is used to generate repair codes for repairingthe vehicle and estimate the total cost of repair. Based on a determinedtreatment complexity level, the system identifies a treatment facilitycapable of treating the damaged vehicle and sends information fortransporting the damaged vehicle to the treatment facility, therebyremoving the need to initially bring the damaged vehicle to an interimlocation for a damage assessment before transporting the damaged vehicleto a designated treatment facility for treatment.

More specifically, the vehicle treatment system receives crashinformation in the form of acceleration, velocity, position of vehicleparts relative to the vehicle, and/or impact direction of the vehicle atthe time of the crash. To estimate the extent of vehicle damage causedin the crash, the system analyzes one or more aspects of the crashinformation. In one example embodiment, the system calculates anestimate of the vehicle damage by comparing the crash information tocollision data of a vehicle type that includes the damaged vehicle. Thecollision data may include various levels of vehicle damage associatedwith specified aspects of collision information. For example, onecategory of vehicle damage in the collision data may be equated to aparticular vehicle acceleration or velocity, or a range of vehicleaccelerations or velocities. Other categories of vehicle damage in thecollision data may also be equated to a vehicle direction, whichindicates where the damaged vehicle was likely impacted. Additionally,based on the extent of vehicle damage, the system also determines atreatment complexity level for treating the damaged vehicle. Thereafter,information related to treating the damaged vehicle is then transmittedby the system. The treatment information may be automatically sent to atreatment facility, a vehicle transporter, a person or entity such asthe vehicle owner, or an associated insurance agent, for example. Inparticular, treatment facilities capable of treating vehicles having aparticular treatment complexity level may be ranked according to one ormore factors and the treatment information may be sent to one or more ofthe highest ranking facilities. As such, this system allows for vehiclesdamaged in a collision to be transported directly to a treatmentfacility capable of performing the desired treatment, e.g., repair,salvage, scrap; soon after the crash, thereby avoiding the timeassociated with bringing the damaged vehicle to an assessment center orhaving an adjuster visit the damaged vehicle to assess an insuranceclaim before the damaged vehicle is brought to a designated treatmentfacility.

FIG. 1 is a general overview of a system 100 for determining a treatmentof a vehicle damaged in a crash. As used herein, the term “vehicle”refers to any type of powered transportation device, which includes, andis not limited to, an automobile, truck, bus, motorcycle, or boat. Whilethe vehicle may normally be controlled by an operator, it is to beunderstood that the vehicle may be unmanned and remotely or autonomouslyoperated in another fashion, such as using controls other than thesteering wheel, gear shift, brake pedal, and accelerator pedal. Thesystem 100 in FIG. 1 includes a processing center 102 capable offacilitating an analysis of the damaged vehicle's crash information 104.The analysis may include a comparison of the damaged vehicle's crashinformation 104 with collision data 106 to estimate the extent ofvehicle damage and determine a treatment for the vehicle. Throughoutthis description, the term crash is used in reference to the particularincident in which the vehicle was damaged and the term collision is usedin reference to one or more incidents in which another vehicle orvehicles were damaged. The analysis of the crash information 104 may beperformed by system personnel and/or a computing device at theprocessing center 102.

The crash information 104 provided to the processing center 102 includesspecific information related to the crash that damaged the vehicle andmay include information received from the vehicle owner 108, driver, oroccupant, an insurance agent 110 and/or entity of the damaged vehicle,an emergency responder, an accident investigator. The crash information104 may include impact characteristics of the vehicle involved in thecrash, which may be provided to system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 by an observer of the damaged vehicle. For example, thedriver of the damaged vehicle may provide crash information such as theapproximate speed of the vehicle at the time of the crash and what areaof the vehicle was damaged. Other observed crash information provided tosystem personnel and/or the processing center 102 may include whetherthe vehicle's airbags deployed or if the vehicle is drivable. Inaddition, images of the damaged vehicle may be used for comparison toimages of vehicles of the same or similar type with known damage fromother collisions. Some impact characteristics of the crash may beautomatically relayed to system personnel and/or the processing center102 by telematics devices, e.g., sensors, operatively coupled to thevehicle. The sensors enable a computing device to automatically attainimpact characteristics such as vehicle acceleration, velocity, positionof vehicle parts relative to the vehicle and/or direction at the time ofthe crash. For example, spatial sensors may be placed at differentlocations throughout the vehicle. Each spatial sensor may correspond toa vehicle part such as, for example, a front pillar or a portionthereof. A telematics device may communicate with the spatial sensor anddetermine the position of the sensor relative to the telematics device.In this manner, the telematics device can determine when the spatialsensor moves relative to the telematics device, and can infer that thefront pillar has moved from its original position and is thereforedamaged by the crash. Moreover, system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 may be able to estimate the cost to repair or replace thevehicle part and the extent of the damage to the vehicle part based onthe distance in which the spatial sensor moved. Additional crashinformation may include the damaged vehicle's identification number(VIN) and related data, which may have been made available to systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 prior to the crash. The VINdata may include the make, model, year, and type of vehicle as well asprevious damage/repair information and insurance claim informationassociated with the damaged vehicle. Additionally, or alternatively, thecrash information may include a vehicle data identifier (VDI) for thedamaged vehicle. A VDI may include a plurality of segments correspondingto vehicle attributes associated with an individual vehicle and/or atype, group, or classification of the vehicle. In some embodiments, aVIN may be one example of a VDI.

Collision data 106 generally includes records or compilations ofinformation involving other vehicles damaged in other collisions, suchas VDI/VIN data, historical loss information including historical injurydata associated with the loss, images, telematics information, andvehicle damage evaluation. The collision data 106 may be periodicallyupdated and any of the collision data utilized by system personneland/or the processing center 102 may be stored in the system 100 and/oroperatively coupled to the processing center.

The VIN data may include vehicle manufacturer information such asrecommended repair procedures and costs, vehicle part warranties, costsand market value estimations of various vehicles and vehicle parts, etc.The VIN database may also include vehicle safety information including,and not limited to, vehicle part recall information, safety notices,repair notices, etc. Historical loss information may include observed ormeasured amounts of vehicle damage and the corresponding cost of repairassociated with or resulting from known, observed, or measured aspectsrelating to a collision or impact of another vehicle, such as vehicleacceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts relative to thevehicle, and/or direction. Some examples of historical loss data includevehicle crash test results, bumper test results, traffic accidentinvestigations, and the like. Various impact characteristics such asvehicle acceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts relative tothe vehicle, direction, and/or image can be compiled into a chart ortable and associated with known vehicle damage. A damage evaluation toolmay include a guide or template to be used in estimating the extent ofvehicle damage. For example, stored images and operating characteristicsof vehicles damaged in other collisions may be used to compare with likeimages and operating characteristics of the vehicle damaged in thecrash. In another example, stored collision data related to the movementof vehicle parts in other collisions may be used to compare with likemovement for like vehicle parts damaged in the crash.

Additionally, treatment for the damaged vehicle can also be facilitatedby comparing the crash information with the collision data. That is, theextent of vehicle damage resulting from the crash can be estimated bycomparing impact aspects of the crash with similar impact aspects ofsimilar vehicles involved in past collisions. The compilation of impactcharacteristics associated with known vehicle damage from similarvehicles involved in previous collisions can be used as a guide ortemplate to estimate the amount of damage that occurred to the vehicleinvolved in the crash.

Once the extent of vehicle damage has been estimated, an estimate fortreating the vehicle can be determined. In short, various levels ofvehicle damage may be equated with various levels of vehicle treatment.That is, the estimated extent of vehicle damage can be equated to atreatment complexity level. For example, minor, medium, and majorvehicle damage can be equated to minor, medium and major vehicle repair.Irreparable vehicle damage may be equated to a scrapping or salvagingtreatment. More specifically, each damaged vehicle part may be assigneda repair code from a set of repair codes based on the extent of thedamage to the vehicle part. The set of repair codes may include aseparate repair code for each combination of vehicle characteristicssuch as make and model of the vehicle being repaired, the vehicle partbeing repaired, the type of repair for the vehicle part includingwhether the vehicle part needs to be repaired or replaced, the extent ofthe damage to the vehicle part, etc. Each repair code may correspond toa cost estimate. In this manner, the repair codes make up a standardizedsystem for automatically determining the cost of vehicle treatment forany type of damage to any type of vehicle based on vehiclecharacteristics. For example, repair code 00123 may be for repairing thehood of a Honda Accord with slight damage. On the other hand repair code00426 may be for replacing the bumper of a Nissan Altima with heavydamage. The associated cost estimate for repair code 00123 may be $100whereas the associated cost estimate for repair code 00426 may be $500.Each assigned repair code may be aggregated and/or combined to determinea total cost estimate for the damaged vehicle. The repair codes aredescribed in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 5B-5D.

Once the vehicle treatment complexity has been estimated, systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 may identify a vehicletreatment facility 112 capable of performing the requisite treatment. Insome embodiments, vehicle treatment facilities capable of performing therequisite treatment may be ranked according to one or more factors suchas, for example, repair duration data for the treatment facility, atreatment facility quality rating, a treatment facility availability, aprice schedule for treating damaged vehicles, treatment facilitylocation data, a ranking for one or more suppliers used by the treatmentfacility, or any combination thereof. Each of the treatment facilitiesmay receive a treatment score for each factor, and the factors may beaggregated and/or combined to determine an overall treatment score foreach treatment facility. The treatment facilities may then be rankedbased on their respective overall treatment scores, and system personneland/or the processing center 102 may identify the highest rankingvehicle treatment facility as the vehicle treatment facility 112 forperforming the requisite treatment. In other embodiments, the processingcenter 102 may identify a subset of the highest ranking treatmentfacilities, and a policy-holder and/or owner of the damaged vehicle mayselect the vehicle treatment facility 112 from the subset of treatmentfacilities for performing the requisite treatment.

In any event, a vehicle transporter 114 may be contacted by systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 to transport the damagedvehicle from the crash site to the identified treatment facility 112,e.g., a service repair center, a scrapping or salvaging facility. Forirreparable vehicles, the damaged vehicle may be dismantled beforescrapping and undamaged vehicle parts may be salvaged and stored at awarehouse 116 for reuse and resale.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram 200 depicting an example embodiment of avehicle treatment process that may be implemented by the treatmentsystem 100 shown in FIG. 1. More particularly, the method 200 may beexecuted separately or cooperatively by system personnel and theprocessing center 102. Vehicle crash information is gathered foranalysis (block 202). The vehicle crash information may be provided tosystem personnel and/or the processing center 102 by a vehicle occupantor emergency responder communicating characteristics of the crash. Thecrash characteristics may include descriptions of the approximate speedthe vehicle was moving at the time of the crash, where the vehicle wasdamaged, the type of damage to the vehicle, whether the vehicle can beoperated and/or moved, if the vehicle's airbags or other safety systemswere deployed as a result of the crash, etc.

Crash characteristics may also be provided to system personnel and/orthe processing center 102 by the vehicle's engine control unit (ECU)and/or one or more telematics devices that are capable of monitoringand/or noting various vehicle functions, e.g., acceleration, velocity,position of vehicle parts relative to the vehicle, and/or direction ofthe vehicle at the time of the crash, sometimes referred to as eventdata recording (EDR). The telematics devices are operatively coupled tothe vehicle and may be configured to automatically function when thevehicle is in operation. For example, the vehicle's operatinginformation, e.g., acceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts,and/or direction of the vehicle, may be periodically monitored when thevehicle is moving. When a crash occurs, the monitored speed, directionof the vehicle, and positions of various vehicle parts may beautomatically attained and transmitted to system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102 as crash characteristics.

When the crash information is received by system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102, the crash information is analyzed to determine anestimate of the extent of damage caused to the vehicle during the crash(block 204). The analysis may include calculating the extent of damageby comparing the crash information 104 to collision data 106. Based onthe estimated vehicle damage, a treatment complexity level is determined(block 206). The treatment complexity level is an estimate indicatingthe level of difficulty involved with treating the damaged vehicle. Thetreatment of the vehicle may include repairing or replacing damagedvehicle parts, and in some instances where repairing the vehicle is toocostly, scrapping the vehicle. In some embodiments, the treatmentcomplexity level may be determined separately for each individual partdamaged in the crash. For example, the hood may require minor repairswhereas the fender may be damaged significantly and require heavyrepairs or replacement. The treatment complexity level may also includea price schedule for treating the damaged vehicle, and/or a timeduration for completing the treatment of the damaged vehicle. Once theestimated treatment complexity level is determined, one or moretreatment facilities capable of performing the requisite treatment maybe identified by system personnel and/or the processing center (block208). System personnel and/or the processing center 102 may thentransmit a communication related to the treatment of the damaged vehicle(block 210). For example, system personnel and/or the processing center102 may contact one or more identified treatment facilities to initiateor inquire further in regard to the continued treatment of the damagedvehicle (block 210).

A flow diagram 300 of an example embodiment for gathering vehicle crashinformation is depicted in FIG. 3. Crash information may be received bysystem personnel and/or the processing center 102 from an individual(s)present at the crash site, such as a vehicle occupant or an emergencyresponder (block 302). For example, the driver of the vehicle maycontact system personnel and/or the processing center 102 and providethe approximate speed the vehicle was moving at the time of the crash(block 304), where the vehicle was damaged (block 306), descriptionsand/or images of the damaged vehicle, whether the vehicle can be startedand/or driven, if the vehicle's airbags or other safety systems weredeployed as a result of the crash, the position of various vehicle partsin relation to the vehicle, etc. In addition, similar and/or additionalcrash information may be provided by the vehicle's EDR as well.

In treatment systems 100 where telematics devices are utilized, similarcrash information may be automatically provided to system personneland/or the processing center 102 by a computing device and/or telematicsdevices operatively coupled to the vehicle. In particular, while thevehicle is being operated, the vehicle's operating information may bemonitored by a series of measurements of operating conditions orcharacteristics pertaining to the operation of the vehicle. For example,one or more computing devices such as a mobile computing device, anon-board computing device, and/or a server device may be communicativelycoupled to sensors such as an accelerometer array operatively coupled tothe vehicle. The accelerometer array may monitor and/or measure theacceleration of the vehicle along several axes and/or travellingdirections. Measured operating information such as vehicle acceleration,velocity, and direction may be logged periodically (e.g., everymillisecond, every second, etc.) or conditionally on the occurrence ordetection of an event (e.g., a crash) and stored in the system 100, forexample, as an event log (e.g., crash log) in a data storage unit of thesystem or a remote storage unit communicatively coupled to the system.The crash log may include a timestamp to note the time of themeasurement. In one example configuration, system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102 may determine, derive, or deduce additional crashinformation. In particular, the vehicle acceleration at the time of thecrash may be considered primary crash information, wherein additional,or secondary, crash information may include a crash velocity and/or acrash direction, which may be mathematically derived by system personneland/or the processing center 102 from the acceleration monitored and/ormeasured via the accelerometer and computing device. More particularly,the system's 100 computing device(s) may monitor, via the accelerometerarray, acceleration associated with the vehicle in the X, Y, and/or Zaxes and create accelerometer logs. In some embodiments, the X-axis maybe oriented along a front-back axis aligned with the vehicle and/ormobile and/or on-board computing device, the Y-axis may be orientedalong a side-side axis aligned with the vehicle and/or mobile oron-board computing device, and the Z-axis may be oriented along atop-bottom axis aligned with the vehicle and/or mobile and/or on-boardcomputing device. However, these axes may be positioned in other ways.

Detection of a vehicle crash may be facilitated by the use of theaccelerometer. For example, a crash may be detected when a computingdevice operatively coupled to the accelerometer notes a significant,near immediate increase or decrease in the monitored acceleration in thefore-aft, lateral, and/or vertical direction of the vehicle, e.g., X, Y,and Z axes. Alternatively, a crash may be detected by a GPS unit viadetection of a significant increase or decrease in vehicle velocity, orthrough near-simultaneous activation of an emergency response such asthe deployment of an air-bag or an alert, e.g., automatic collisionnotification (ACN), etc.

In another example, one or more computing devices such as a mobilecomputing device, an on-board computing device, and/or a server devicemay be communicatively coupled to spatial sensors such as radiofrequency identification (RFID) sensors, positioning beacons, etc.,placed on several vehicle parts throughout the vehicle. The on-boardcomputing device and/or mobile computing device may receiveidentification information from the spatial sensors and determinecorresponding vehicle parts attached to the spatial sensors based on theidentification. For example, the on-board computing device and/or mobilecomputing device may store a known original location or reference pointand a corresponding vehicle part for each spatial sensor, which may beretrieved upon receiving identification information for the spatialsensor. Moreover, the on-board computing device and/or mobile computingdevice may use triangulation and/or trilateration to determine thelocation of the spatial sensors by measuring angles and/or distancesfrom the spatial sensors to the known positions of RFID readers,wireless radios, etc., disposed within the on-board computing deviceand/or mobile computing device. The determined location for a spatialsensor may be compared to the known original location or reference pointfor the spatial sensor to determine whether the spatial sensor has movedas a result of the crash. Moreover, in some embodiments, the on-boardcomputing device and/or mobile computing device may compare the measureddistances to known original distances between the spatial sensors andthe on-board computing device and/or mobile device to determine whetherthe spatial sensors have moved as a result of the crash.

In trilateration, the distances may be measured or approximated based ona received signal strength (RSS) of the RFID signal or positioningsignal from one of the spatial sensors. The stronger the receivedsignal, the closer the spatial sensor is to the on-board computingdevice and/or the mobile computing device. For example, based on theRSS, the on-board computing device may determine the spatial sensor is 3meters from a first wireless radio disposed within the on-boardcomputing device, 3.2 meters from a second wireless radio, and 3.4meters from a third wireless radio. Then, for example, the on-boardcomputing device may calculate the exact location of the spatial sensorbased on the spatial sensor's relative distance to the first, second,and third wireless radios.

Measured position information of the spatial sensors may be loggedperiodically (e.g., every millisecond, every second, etc.) orconditionally on the occurrence or detection of an event (e.g., a crash)and stored in the system 100, for example, as an event log (e.g., crashlog) in a data storage unit of the system or a remote storage unitcommunicatively coupled to the system. The crash log may include atimestamp to note the time of the measurement. Furthermore, detection ofa vehicle crash may be facilitated by the use of the spatial sensors.For example, a crash may be detected when the on-board computing deviceand/or the mobile device operatively coupled to the spatial sensorsnotes a significant change in the position of one of the spatial sensorsindicating that a vehicle part has moved more than a predeterminedthreshold distance from its original position relative to the vehicle.In some embodiments, when such significant change occurs, the measuredposition information may be provided to the processing center 102.Moreover, the distance a vehicle part moves may be used to determine theextent of the damage to the vehicle part. For example, spatial sensorsdisposed throughout the vehicle frame body may be used to detect aparticular portion of the frame body has moved from its originalalignment. If the particular portion of the frame body moves a fewcentimeters, realignment may be a faster and less expensive process thanif the portion of the frame body moves a meter.

A flow diagram 400 of an example embodiment for estimating the extent ofvehicle damage is depicted in FIG. 4. Some or all of the method forestimating the extent of vehicle damage may be implemented by systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102. In particular, systempersonnel may utilize crash characteristics provided by an individualpresent at the crash site, such as the driver and/or occupant of thedamaged vehicle or an emergency responder (block 402). For example,descriptions and images of the damaged vehicle and an approximate speedof the vehicle at the time of the crash and the direction of where thevehicle was damaged may be provided to system personnel by the driver ofthe vehicle. Alternatively, system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 may utilize crash characteristics automatically attained bytelematics devices operatively coupled to the vehicle. Some examples ofcrash characteristics include, and are not limited to, vehicleacceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts within the vehicle,and/or direction. Some crash information may be attained by anaccelerometer and an array of sensors including spatial sensors at thetime of the crash and the transmitted via a wireless communicationmodule to system personnel and/or the processing center 102. Systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 may then analyze the crashinformation. In one example embodiment, system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102 may compare various combinations crashcharacteristics to collision data (block 404). The collision data mayinclude historical loss information of similar type vehicles damaged inpast collisions. The collision data may be compiled from past collisionsand/or from laboratory crash test results involving other vehicles ofthe same or similar type as the damaged vehicle. The collision data mayfurther include one or several combinations of impact or collisioncharacteristics that are equated and/or associated to a known amount ofvehicle damage. For example, vehicle damage associated with front-endimpacts at various vehicle speeds may be associated with a list ofvehicle parts likely to need repair and/or replacement from suchimpacts. By comparing the crash characteristics of the damaged vehicleto impact and/or collision characteristics of the collision data, anextent of damage to the damaged vehicle may be estimated (block 406). Insome embodiments, an extent of damage to individual vehicle parts of thedamaged vehicle may be estimated by comparing the crash characteristicsassociated with individual vehicle parts to impact and/or collisioncharacteristics of the collision data.

FIG. 5A depicts a flow diagram 500 of an example embodiment forestimating the treatment complexity level, which may be accomplished bysystem personnel and/or the processing center 102. The collision datamay include a range of treatment complexity levels associated withvarious amounts of vehicle damage. In general, a treatment complexitylevel represents the difficulty associated with treating the damagedvehicle and may include or be associated with a pricing schema having apredetermined price structure for treating the damaged vehicle. A rangeof vehicle treatment complexity levels may be delineated by the amountof involvement associated with treating the damaged vehicle, forexample, repairing and/or replacing vehicle parts of the damagedvehicle, or to scrap the damaged vehicle. Each treatment complexitylevel may include estimates or indications of the repair time and costassociated with the type and amount of vehicle body parts that may bedamaged, e.g., body panel (front, side, rear, quarter-panel, rockerpanel, driver-side, and passenger-side), bumper, radiator, lights, waterpump, battery, struts, frame, and gas tank. The estimate or indicator ofthe cost, time and/or repair skill associated with repairing a damagevehicle may include one or more damage repair codes.

The several levels of treatment complexity may include a speed or lightrepair, a medium or moderate repair, a heavy or severe repair, notrepairable, scrap, and salvage, for example. A speed or light repairtreatment designation may indicate or estimate that one or two vehicleparts need repair or replacement, or that minor refinishing may berequired, but that no structural damage occurred to the vehicle. Amedium or moderate repair treatment designation may indicate that a fewvehicle parts require repair or replacement or that light structuraldamage occurred to the vehicle. A heavy or extensive repair treatmentdesignation may indicate that the vehicle is not drivable, significantstructural damage occurred to the vehicle, more than five vehicle partsneed repair or replacement, or a welded-on vehicle component needsreplacement. A scrap designation may indicate that the vehicle is to bescrapped not repaired. Prior to scrapping, the damaged vehicle may bedismantled to salvage any undamaged or usable vehicle parts. In someembodiments, the treatment complexity level represents the difficultyassociated with treating individual vehicle parts within the damagedvehicle.

The estimated extent of vehicle damage attained by system personneland/or the processing center 102 may include a list of vehicle partsestimated to be damaged (block 502). By comparing and matching thedamaged list of vehicle parts to the vehicle collision data (block 504),system personnel and/or the processing center 102 may identify therequisite treatment complexity level (block 506). For example, a vehicledamage estimate requiring less than 10 hours of repair time or $1000 invehicle parts and labor may be designated as a low treatment complexitylevel; a vehicle damage estimate requiring between 10-15 hours of repairtime or between $1000-$2500 in vehicle parts and labor may be designatedas a medium treatment complexity level; a vehicle damage estimaterequiring between 15-30 hours of repair time or between $2500-$5000 invehicle parts and labor may be designated as a high treatment complexitylevel; and a vehicle damage estimate requiring more than 30 hours ofrepair time, or having costs in vehicle parts and labor greater than thevalue of the damaged vehicle in an undamaged condition, may bedesignated as a scrapping treatment complexity level.

FIG. 5B depicts an example table 520 of damage repair codes forestimating the cost of repairing vehicle damage. The example table 520includes example repair codes which may be a small subset of a largerset of repair codes. As mentioned above, the set of repair codes mayinclude a separate repair code for each combination of impactcharacteristics such as make and model of the vehicle being repaired,the vehicle part being repaired, the type of repair for the vehicle partincluding whether the vehicle part needs to be repaired and/or replaced,the extent of the damage to the vehicle part, etc. Each repair code maycorrespond to a cost estimate, where the cost estimate may be determinedbased on collision data including historical loss information of similartype vehicle having similar type damage. For example, the associatedcost estimate for a repair code corresponding to repairing the quarterpanel of a Ford Taurus having moderate damage may be determined byanalyzing repair costs from historical loss information related torepairing quarter panels of Ford Tauruses having moderate damage frompast collisions. In some embodiments, the repair codes may be stored inthe system 100 and/or operatively coupled to the processing center 102.

As shown in FIG. 5B, repair code 00675 (reference 522) is associatedwith an instruction, “Refinish Hood,” and a cost estimate, $300. Whilethe instruction for repair code 00675 (reference 522) does not specifythe extent of the damage to the hood, or the make and model of thevehicle, repair code 00675 (reference 522) may be used for refinishinghoods of Honda Civics with light damage. In some embodiments, a separaterepair code, for example, 10675 may be used for refinishing hoods forvehicles of a different make and/or model with light damage. Moreover,yet another repair code, for example, 02675, may be used for refinishinghoods for Honda Civics with moderate damage. Further, in someembodiments, the set of repair codes may be generated based onadditional or alternative crash characteristics and in other embodimentssome of the above mentioned crash characteristics may be omitted whengenerating the set of repair codes.

In any event, repair code 00610 (reference 521) is associated with theinstruction, “Repair Roof,” and a cost estimate of $700; repair code00676 (reference 524) is associated with the instruction, “RefinishFender,” and a cost estimate of $200; repair code 00678 (reference 526)is associated with the instruction, “Replace Grille,” and a costestimate of $250; repair code 00679 (reference 528) is associated withthe instruction, “Replace Door,” and a cost estimate of $500; repaircode 00682 (reference 530) is associated with the instruction, “ReplaceQuarter Panel,” and a cost estimate of $400; repair code 00690(reference 532) is associated with the instruction, “Repair Bumper,” anda cost estimate of $100; and repair code 00692 (reference 534) isassociated with the instruction, “Repair Trunk Lid,” and a cost estimateof $350. Each of these repair codes may be for the same vehicle make andmodel, for example, a Honda Civic, and may be aggregated and/or combinedto estimate the total cost of repair for a damaged Honda Civic. Forexample, by comparing crash information for a damaged Honda Civic tocollision data, a list of damaged vehicle parts including the extent ofthe damage to each vehicle part may be generated as described above inFIG. 4. A repair code from the set of repair codes may then be assignedto each damaged vehicle part in the list based on the crashcharacteristics for the damaged vehicle. For example, repair code 00679(reference 528) may be assigned when a door in the Honda Civic needs tobe replaced. In some embodiments, repair code 00679 may be assignedtwice when two doors in the Honda Civic need to be replaced.

While the example table 520 depicts eight repair codes, this is merelyfor ease of illustration only. There may be hundreds or thousands ofrepair codes each corresponding to a different combination of crashcharacteristics. More specifically, each make and model may correspondto a separate subset of repair codes including each combination of crashcharacteristics. For example, repair codes 00600-00699 may correspond toHonda Civics, while repair codes 00700-00799 may correspond to HondaAccords. The make and model for the vehicle may be determined using theVDI/VIN data for the damaged vehicle as described above with referenceto FIG. 1. Moreover, in some embodiments, repair codes may also be usedin salvaging and/or scrapping treatments. For example, the repair code19986 may be used for salvaging hoods of Honda Civics in good condition.The associated cost estimate may be a price estimate of the market valueof the vehicle part assuming it is sold to a treatment facility or anyother auto body shop. The salvage repair codes may have an inverserelationship with the other repair codes. For example, for the salvagerepair codes, vehicle parts in better condition may have higherassociated price estimates, whereas for the other repair codes, the costestimates become higher when there is more work that needs to be done torepair the vehicle part. Further, the price estimate may be based on thescarcity/demand for the vehicle part. For example, vehicle parts from aclassic car (e.g., a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette), may be in high demandbecause the car is no longer manufactured. The price estimates forsalvage repair codes may be aggregated to determine the total price thatan insurance provider can recover by salvaging vehicle parts.

FIG. 5C depicts an example damaged vehicle 540 including repair codesfor various vehicle parts. Continuing the example from FIG. 5B, thedamaged vehicle 540 may be a Honda Civic, and as a result, repair codes00600-00699 may be assigned to estimate the cost of repairing thevehicle. Moreover, in some embodiments, the repair codes may be providedto a treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle so thetreatment facility knows what needs to be done to repair the vehiclewithout having to perform an inspection. The repair codes also may beprovided to ensure the treatment facility does not miss anything duringthe repair.

In any event, crash information for the damaged vehicle 540 may becompared to collision data including historical loss information ofsimilar type vehicles damaged in past collisions to determine whichvehicle parts are damaged, and the extent of the damage to the vehicleparts including the type of repair necessary (e.g., whether the vehiclepart needs to be repaired and/or replaced) as described above in FIG. 4.A repair code from the set of repair codes may then be assigned to eachdamaged vehicle part in the list based on the crash characteristics forthe damaged vehicle.

In the example damaged vehicle 540, the two doors 550 and 552 areassigned the repair code 00679 “Replace Door” with an associated costestimate of $500 for each door. The front, right fender 548 is assignedrepair code 00676 “Refinish Fender” with an associated cost estimate of$200, the hood 546 is assigned repair code 00675 “Refinish Hood” with anassociated cost estimate of $300, and the roof 544 is assigned repaircode 00610 “Replace Roof’ with an associated cost estimate of $700.Further, the trunk lid 542 is assigned repair code 00692 “Repair TrunkLid” with an associated cost estimate of $350, and the rear quarterpanel 554 is assigned repair code 00682 “Replace Quarter Panel” with anassociated cost estimate of $400. Additionally, the grille 556 isassigned repair code 00678 “Replace Grille” with an associated costestimate of $250, and the bumper 558 is assigned repair code 00690“Repair Bumper” with an associated cost estimate of $100. Combining thecost estimates for each of the repair codes corresponding to the damagedvehicle parts, the total cost for repairing the vehicle may be estimatedas $3300. This estimate may be used to pay the policy-holder on theinsurance claim, and/or to provide a treatment facility with anexpectation of the cost of repair for the damaged vehicle.

FIG. 5D depicts a flow diagram 560 of an example method for estimatingthe cost of repairing the damaged vehicle. As described above, after acrash, system personnel and/or the processing center 102 may utilizecrash characteristics provided by an individual present at the crashsite, such as the driver and/or occupant of the damaged vehicle or anemergency responder (block 562). For example, descriptions and images ofthe damaged vehicle and an approximate speed of the vehicle at the timeof the crash and the direction of where the vehicle was damaged may beprovided to system personnel by the driver of the vehicle.Alternatively, system personnel and/or the processing center 102 mayutilize crash characteristics automatically attained by telematicsdevices operatively coupled to the vehicle. Some examples of crashcharacteristics include, and are not limited to, VDI/VIN data, vehicleacceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts within the vehicle,and/or direction. Some crash information may be attained by anaccelerometer and an array of sensors including spatial sensors at thetime of the crash and then transmitted via a wireless communicationmodule to system personnel and/or the processing center 102.

System personnel and/or the processing center 102 may then analyze thecrash information. In one example embodiment, system personnel and/orthe processing center 102 may compare various combinations of crashcharacteristics to collision data (block 564). The collision data mayinclude historical loss information of similar type vehicles damaged inpast collisions. The collision data may be compiled from past collisionsand/or from laboratory crash test results involving other vehicles ofthe same or similar type as the damaged vehicle. The collision data mayfurther include one or several combinations of impact or collisioncharacteristics that are equated and/or associated to a known amount ofvehicle damage. For example, vehicle damage associated with front-endimpacts at various vehicle speeds may be associated with a list ofvehicle parts likely to need repair and/or replacement from suchimpacts. By comparing the crash characteristics of the damaged vehicleto impact and/or collision characteristics of the collision data, damageto individual vehicle parts may be identified (block 566). For example,the processing center 102 may identify damage to the hood, the rearquarter panel, the side panel, the roof, etc.

In addition to identifying damage to individual vehicle parts, thecomparison may also be analyzed to determine the extent of the damage tovehicle parts (block 568). For example, the crash characteristics of thedamaged vehicle may be compared to collision data to determine whetherthe damaged vehicle parts need to be repaired and/or replaced. Inaddition to determining whether the damaged vehicle parts need to berepaired, the comparison may also be analyzed to determine whether therepair/refinish will be a light, moderate, heavy, etc., repair/refinish.

Once the extent of the damage is estimated for each damaged vehiclepart, a repair code from the set of repair codes is generated for eachof the damaged vehicle parts (block 570). For example a repair code maycorrespond to a particular vehicle make and model, the vehicle partbeing repaired, the type of repair for the vehicle part includingwhether the vehicle part needs to be repaired and/or replaced, theextent of the damage to the vehicle part, etc. The repair code may begenerated based on the crash characteristics for the damaged vehiclepart, and may be associated with a cost estimate for repairing orreplacing the vehicle part. The repair codes for each damaged vehiclepart may then be aggregated (block 572) to calculate a total costestimate of repairing the vehicle (block 574). The total cost estimateand each of the repair codes may be provided to a treatment facility toprovide the treatment facility with an expectation of the cost of repairfor the damaged vehicle, and so the treatment facility knows what needsto be done to repair the vehicle without having to perform aninspection. In some embodiments, the total cost estimate may also beprovided to the policy-holder.

FIG. 6A depicts a flow diagram 600 of an example method for identifyingthe treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle. Once thetreatment complexity level is estimated and repair codes are generatedfor each damaged vehicle part, system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 may begin to determine an appropriate treatment facility forthe damaged vehicle. The treatment complexity level is attained (block602) and may be compared by system personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 to a list of treatment facilities that may be capable ofproviding the necessary treatment (block 604). Matching the estimatedtreatment complexity level with the treatment facilities in the list maybe based on one or more factors, such as a pricing structure, treatmentfacility capability, treatment facility location, treatment facilityquality rating/work quality history and/or certification, treatmentfacility availability, time, etc. and combinations thereof. One or moreof these factors may also be weighted and/or prioritized by systempersonnel and/or the processing center 102 when determining a treatmentfacility for treatment of the vehicle. For example, a low complexitytreatment generally may not require a high skill level and theconvenience of a treatment facility near the vehicle owner may beconsidered to be more beneficial. Thus, for a low complexity treatment,the location factor of the treatment facility may be weighted and/orprioritized over some of the other factors. For medium or highcomplexity treatments, the skill level and/or performance record of thetreatment facility may need to be higher, and thus weighted and/orprioritized over some of the other factors.

When a treatment facility is identified, a communication relating to thetreatment of the damaged vehicle may be sent by system personnel and/orthe processing center 102 (block 606). For example, the processingcenter 102 may transmit information associated with the treatment in theform of an SMS text, e-mail, phone call, facsimile, etc. to theidentified treatment facility. The information may also be provided tothe vehicle owner and/or other entities authorized by the vehicle owner,such as a collision repair facility, a vehicle scrap facility, emergencypersonnel, an insurance agent, etc. In addition, the informationtransmitted by the processing center 102 may include a request to thetreatment facility or a vehicle transporter to transport the damagedvehicle to the identified treatment facility.

FIG. 6B depicts an example method that can be executed at block 604 ofthe method 600 of FIG. 6A. The example method illustrates a moredetailed version of the process for identifying and/or determining thetreatment facilities of block 604 in more detail. System personneland/or the processing center 102 may receive a list of treatmentfacilities within a geographic area (block 620). For example, a list ofall treatment facilities, including repair and salvage centers, within200 miles of the damaged vehicle may be received.

Each treatment facility may then be assigned to a treatment complexitylevel based on the treatment facility capability. For example, one setof treatment facilities may be designated as speed or light repairtreatment facilities, while another set of treatment facilities may bedesignated as medium or moderate repair treatment facilities. Yetanother set of treatment facilities may be designated as heavy or severerepair treatment facilities, another set as scrap and salvage treatmentfacilities, etc. The set of treatment facilities designated as speed orlight repair treatment facilities may be capable of, for example,performing single day repair jobs requiring single panel repair fordrivable vehicles. On the other hand, the set of treatment facilitiesdesignated as heavy or severe repair treatment facilities may be capableof, for example, ten day or more repair jobs requiring structuralreplacement and/or several panels damaged. In some embodiments,treatment facilities may be assigned to a treatment complexity levelbased on experience with damaged vehicles having the assigned treatmentcomplexity. For example, a treatment facility that has worked withhundreds of vehicles requiring heavy or severe repairs may be designatedas a heavy or severe repair treatment facility. Moreover, a treatmentfacility that has only performed a few heavy or severe repairs but hasperformed hundreds of speed or light repairs may be designated as aspeed or light repair treatment facility.

Each set of treatment facilities corresponding to a particularcomplexity level may then be sorted and/or ranked to determine the mostdesirable treatment facilities for a given complexity level. Forexample, fifty treatment facilities within 200 miles of a damagedvehicle may be designated as medium or moderate repair facilities. Thetreatment facilities may then be ranked one through fifty based onseveral factors, and the highest ranking treatment facilities may beidentified and/or selected for treating the damaged vehicle. At block622, system personnel and/or the processing center 102 identifyfacilities capable of providing the treatment. For example, if thedamaged vehicle requires medium or moderate repairs, the fifty treatmentfacilities designated as medium or moderate repair facilities may beidentified.

At block 624, a treatment score for each facility capable of providingthe treatment (e.g., designated as medium or moderate repair treatmentfacilities), may be assigned based on one or more several treatmentfacility evaluation characteristics. The treatment facility evaluationcharacteristics may include repair duration data for the treatmentfacility, a treatment facility quality rating, a treatment facilityavailability, a price schedule for treating damaged vehicles, treatmentfacility location data, a ranking for one or more suppliers used by thetreatment facility, or any combination thereof.

In particular, the processing center 102 may determine repair durationdata for each treatment facility which may include the time it took thetreatment facility to complete past vehicle treatment jobs. The repairduration data may also include the time it took the treatment facilityto complete past vehicle treatment jobs requiring similar treatmentand/or for a similar vehicle type as the damaged vehicle. For example,the repair duration data may include an indication that John Smith'sRepair Shop takes an average of five days to complete speed or lightrepairs for Hondas requiring repairs on the bumper. Each treatmentfacility may be assigned a repair duration treatment score, for example,ranging from zero to ten based on the repair duration data. For example,a treatment facility which takes an average of five days to completesimilar treatment for a similar vehicle as the damaged vehicle mayreceive a higher treatment score than a treatment facility which takesan average of seven days.

The processing center 102 may also determine a quality rating for eachtreatment facility. The quality rating may be a numerical score, forexample, ranging from zero to five, may be a category (e.g., “high,”“medium,” “low,” “poor,” etc.), may be a percentage, etc. The qualityrating may be determined based on reviews for each treatment facility,for example, online reviews detailing customer satisfaction with therepairs, and/or may be determined based on historical data for thetreatment facility. For example, damaged vehicles treated by treatmentfacilities which later have further complications due to the repair mayreduce the quality rating of the treatment facilities. The qualityrating may also be specific to the type of vehicle. For example, JohnSmith's repair shop may have a very high quality rating for repairingHondas based on customer reviews and/or historical data, but may have alow quality rating for repairing Ferraris. In any event, each treatmentfacility may be assigned a quality rating treatment score, for example,ranging from zero to five based on the quality rating.

Further, the processing center 102 may receive availability informationfor each treatment facility. The availability information may bereceived from the treatment facility's website, from system personnelcontacting the treatment facility, from a notification or alert from thetreatment facility, for example, after the treatment facility receives anotification that the vehicle has been damaged, etc. In someembodiments, the availability information may include the date that thetreatment facilities can begin treatment for the damaged vehicle.Moreover, the availability information may also include the time (e.g.,morning, afternoon, evening, 11 a.m., 2 p.m., etc.) that the treatmentfacilities can begin treatment. Each treatment facility may be assignedan availability treatment score, for example, ranging from zero totwenty based on how soon the treatment facility can begin treatment forthe damaged vehicle.

Additionally, the processing center 102 may determine a price structurefor each treatment facility which may include previous prices forcompleting similar treatment for similar vehicles as the damagedvehicle. While the processing center 102 determines a cost estimate fortreating the damaged vehicle by, for example, aggregating cost estimatesassociated with a set of repair codes, the processing center 102 mayobtain data on variations from the cost estimate for each treatmentfacility. For example, if John Smith's repair shop consistently charges$100 more than the cost estimate based on the repair codes, then theprice variation for John Smith's repair shop may be determined as +$100.On the other hand, if Dorothy Johnson's repair shop consistently charges$200 less than the cost estimate based on the repair codes, then theprice variation for Dorothy Johnson's repair shop may be determined as−$200. Each treatment facility may be assigned a price variationtreatment score, for example, ranging from zero to fifteen based onprice variation. In some embodiments, treatment facilities having thelowest price variations may receive the highest price variationtreatment scores.

The processing center 102 may also assign location treatment scoresbased on location data for the treatment facility. More specifically,the location treatment scores may be assigned based on a particulartreatment facility's proximity to the damaged vehicle. For example, atreatment facility located 5 miles from the damaged vehicle may receivea higher location treatment score than a treatment facility located 50miles from the damaged vehicle.

Moreover, the processing center 102 may determine a ranking for thesuppliers who provide replacement vehicle parts to each of the treatmentfacilities. The suppliers may be ranked in a similar manner as thetreatment facilities based on several factors such as duration data forthe supplier, quality of the parts, proximity of the supplier to thetreatment facility that the supplier provides parts to, or anycombination thereof. The process for ranking suppliers of the treatmentfacilities is described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 6C.In any event, each treatment facility may be assigned a suppliertreatment score, for example, ranging from zero to thirty based on theranking for the supplier who provides replacement parts to the treatmentfacility. The above mentioned treatment facility evaluationcharacteristics are merely example or possible treatment facilityevaluation characteristics which may be used to rank the treatmentfacilities capable of performing vehicle treatment at a particulartreatment complexity level. Additional or alternative treatment facilityevaluation characteristics may also be used to rank the treatmentfacilities, and/or in some embodiments, one or more of the treatmentfacility evaluation characteristics may be omitted.

In any event, after a treatment score is assigned to each treatmentfacility for each of the several determined treatment facilityevaluation characteristics, an overall treatment score is determined foreach treatment facility (block 626) by aggregating and/or combining thetreatment scores. For example, the treatment scores may be addedtogether, weighted, scaled, or otherwise mathematically combined asdesired to determine an overall treatment score for a treatmentfacility. In an example scenario, the location treatment score may beweighted more heavily than the quality rating treatment score whenranking speed or light repair treatment facilities. Because the speed orlight repair treatment facilities generally do not require high skilllevels, proximity may be more significant than skill.

The processing center 102 may then rank the treatment facilities capableof performing vehicle treatment at a particular treatment complexitylevel based on their respective overall treatment scores (block 628).For example, the treatment facility having the highest overall treatmentscore may be ranked first while the treatment facility having the lowestoverall treatment score may be ranked last. The rankings for thetreatment facilities may then be stored at the processing center 102 forthe damaged vehicle (block 630). In some embodiments, the processingcenter 102 may store several sets of rankings for the damaged vehicle,each set corresponding to treatment facilities assigned to a differenttreatment complexity level. For example, the processing center 102 maystore a set of rankings for the damaged vehicle of speed or light repairtreatment facilities, a set of rankings of medium or moderate repairtreatment facilities, a set of rankings of heavy or severe repairtreatment facilities, a set of rankings of salvage treatment facilities,etc. The rankings may be updated based on changes to historical data forthe treatment facilities, such as average price variation, averageduration, quality rating, etc.

Then, a treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle may bedetermined based on the rankings (block 632). For example, if thetreatment complexity level for the damaged vehicle is speed or lightrepair, the processing center 102 may automatically select the highestranking speed or light repair treatment facility. This automaticselection process may be described in further detail below withreference to FIG. 10. In some embodiments, the processing center 102 maytransmit a display to a computing device, allowing a user such as apolicy-holder and/or owner of the damaged vehicle to select a treatmentfacility from a list of the highest ranking speed or light repairtreatment facilities, (e.g., a list of speed or light repair treatmentfacilities ranking above a predetermined threshold ranking such as thethree highest ranking facilities). In other embodiments, the processingcenter 102 may transmit a display to a computing device including all ofthe speed or light repair treatment facilities and including therespective ranking for each facility. In any event, once the treatmentfacility is selected, the processing center 102 may transmit informationassociated with transporting the damaged vehicle to the selectedtreatment facility. Such information may include a request to transportthe damaged vehicle from the crash site directly to the treatmentfacility. The request to transport the vehicle may be sent to theselected treatment facility or to a vehicle transporter 114 capable oftransporting damaged vehicles from collision sites.

In addition to ranking treatment facilities, system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102 may rank suppliers who provide vehicle parts tothe treatment facilities as described above. In some embodiments, thesupplier ranking for a supplier who provides vehicle parts to atreatment facility may be a treatment facility evaluationcharacteristic. For example, each treatment facility may be assigned asupplier treatment score, for example, ranging from zero to thirty basedon the ranking for the supplier who provides replacement parts to thetreatment facility. In some scenarios, more than one treatment facilitymay use the same supplier resulting in each of these treatmentfacilities receiving the same or similar supplier treatment scores.Moreover, a treatment facility may use more than one supplier. In thisscenario, the supplier treatment scores for each supplier may beaveraged and/or weighted based on the frequency at which the treatmentfacility uses each respective supplier.

In any event, FIG. 6C depicts an example method for ranking suppliers oftreatment facilities that can be executed as part of the block 624 ofthe method 604 of FIG. 6B. At block 640, the system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102 may receive a list of suppliers used by thetreatment facilities identified in the list of treatment facilitiesreceived at block 620 of the method 604 of FIG. 6B. Each treatmentfacility may provide one or more suppliers that the treatment facilityprefers to use and/or the processing center 102 may determine whichsuppliers provide parts to a treatment facility based on historical datafrom previous collisions. For example, if after a previous collisionJohn Smith's repair shop ordered parts from Bill's supply center, theprocessing center 102 may determine that John Smith's repair shop usesBill's supply center to order parts from.

At block 642, a supply score for each supplier may be assigned based onone or several supplier evaluation characteristics. The supplierevaluation characteristics may include duration data for the supplier,quality of the parts, proximity of the supplier to the treatmentfacility that the supplier provides parts to, or any combinationthereof.

More specifically, the duration data for the supplier may be similar tothe repair duration data for the treatment facilities as described abovein FIG. 6B. For example, the duration data for the supplier may includedata on the time it took the supplier to deliver vehicle parts from pastrepairs. In some embodiments, the data for the supplier may include dataon the time it took the supplier to deliver similar parts as thoseneeded for the damaged vehicle. The duration data may also include afrequency in which the supplier meets certain delivery times, e.g.,delivery times specified by the treatment facility or estimated deliverytimes. Each supplier may be assigned a duration supply score, forexample, ranging from zero to ten based on the duration data. Forexample, a supplier which takes an average of two days to delivervehicle parts may receive a higher duration supply score than a supplierwhich takes an average of four days.

The processing center 102 may also assign proximity supply scores basedon the proximity of the supplier to a respective treatment facilitywhich orders parts from the supplier. For example, a supplier located 30miles from a respective treatment facility may receive a higherproximity supply score than a supplier location 200 miles from arespective treatment facility.

The above mentioned supplier evaluation characteristics are merelyexample or possible supplier evaluation characteristics which may beused to rank the suppliers. Additional or alternative supplierevaluation characteristics may also be used to rank the suppliers,and/or in some embodiments, one or more of the supplier evaluationcharacteristics may be omitted.

In any event, after a supply score is assigned to each supplier for eachof the several determined factors, an overall supply score is determinedfor each supplier (block 644) by aggregating and/or combining the supplyscores for the supplier. For example, the supply scores may be addedtogether, weighted, scaled, or otherwise mathematically combined asdesired to determine an overall supply score for a supplier.

The processing center 102 may then rank the suppliers based on theirrespective overall supply scores (block 646). For example, the supplierhaving the highest overall supply score may be ranked first while thesupplier having the lowest overall treatment score may be ranked last.The rankings for the suppliers may then be stored at the processingcenter 102 for the damaged vehicle (block 648). The rankings may beupdated based on changes to historical data for the suppliers, such asaverage duration, parts quality rating, etc.

Then, a supply treatment score may be assigned to each of the treatmentfacilities as described with reference to FIG. 6B, based on the rankingsfor the suppliers (block 650). For example, a treatment facility whichreceives vehicle parts from a highly ranked supplier may be assigned ahigh supply treatment score.

Another example method for identifying the treatment facility fortreating the damaged vehicle is depicted in the flow diagram 700 shownin FIG. 6D. System personnel and/or the processing center 102 receivethe treatment complexity level (block 702), which may then be comparedto vehicle collision data. The vehicle collision data may compriseempirical data including measurements of damaged vehicles of the same orsimilar type to that of the vehicle damaged in the crash. Based on thecomparison, a determination of the type of treatment for the damagedvehicle may be made, generally, to repair the vehicle or salvage thevehicle (block 704). The determination of the type of treatment may bemade by system personnel and/or the processing center 102 evaluating theextent of vehicle damage by, for example, comparing one or morecharacteristics of the damaged vehicle's crash information to ahierarchy of vehicle collision data of similar type vehicles. Othercharacteristics relevant to determining the type of treatment for thedamaged vehicle may include various factors associated with repairing orsalvaging the damaged vehicle, such as, for example: the dynamic marketvalue of one more damaged and/or undamaged vehicle parts; the dynamicmarket value of one or more damaged and/or undamaged vehicle partsdefined within one or more vehicle repair codes; the type of skill andresources necessary to repair the damaged vehicle and/or vehicle parts;and the type of skill and resources necessary to salvage the damagedvehicle and/or damaged vehicle parts. As noted above, the significanceor magnitude associated with one or more factors utilized in determiningthe treatment complexity level of the damaged vehicle may change. Forexample, the market value for an undamaged vehicle and/or its vehicleparts may fluctuate if the market demand for such vehicle and/or vehicleparts increases or decreases.

It is therefore contemplated by this invention to monitor such dynamicchanges in the market value of one or more factors included within thedetermination of the treatment complexity level to provide a timely andmore accurate treatment for a damaged vehicle.

If the damaged vehicle is to be repaired, an extent of the repairs maybe determined (block 706). The range of repair levels may vary fromminor to medium to major and the range may be segmented in relation tothe treatment complexity levels. In other words, one range of vehicledamages may be associated to one particular treatment complexity level.

The time and cost to repair the damaged vehicle may also be consideredin the analysis to determine whether to repair or salvage the damagedvehicle. Additional factors that may also be considered in determiningthe treatment complexity level include the make, model, and year of thedamaged vehicle, and the availability and/or market desirability forundamaged vehicle parts. For example, an older model vehicle may be moreexpensive to repair because replacement vehicle parts may be difficultto obtain. Once the repair level has been determined, a repair treatmentfacility may be selected (block 708). At a minimum, the selected repairtreatment facility is capable of performing the level of repairnecessary. Additional factors that may be considered when determining arepair treatment facility may include the proximity of the repairtreatment facility to the damaged vehicle, e.g., collision site; thetreatment facility's availability to timely repair the vehicle; and, acurrent or prior business relationship between the repair treatmentfacility and the entity using and/or administrating the treatment system100. When the repair center is determined, information associated withthe repair of the vehicle may be transmitted from system personneland/or the processing center 102. Such information may include a requestto transport the damaged vehicle from the crash site directly to therepair treatment facility (block 710). The request to transport thevehicle may be sent to the selected repair treatment facility or to avehicle transporter 114 capable of transporting damaged vehicles fromcollision sites.

If the damage to the vehicle is too extensive or costly to be repaired,the damaged vehicle may be salvaged. In some instances where the damagedvehicle is determined to be a total loss, the vehicle may be immediatelysold or put up for auction or scrapped and shredded for its scrap metal(block 712). Scrapping the vehicle may be appropriated for low dollar,high curb weight vehicles where the value of the damaged vehicle isperceived to be in the scrap metal. In other instances, the damagedvehicle may be dismantled to salvage any value associated with thedamaged vehicle. For example, if the damaged vehicle includes undamagedvehicle parts, the vehicle may be dismantled and the undamaged vehicleparts may be harvested and stored in a storage facility 116 for lateruse and/or sale. The determination to sell or dismantle the damagedvehicle may include consideration of the treatment complexity level, themake, model, and year of the vehicle, and the market demand and/ordesirability of particular harvested vehicle parts, e.g., at-riskvehicle parts for vehicles that are no longer in production.Additionally, a higher monetized recovery of the damaged vehicle may beattained if the damaged vehicle is partially repaired and/or dismantledto a varying extent, and then sold. For example, higher end and latemodel vehicles and/or vehicle parts may be prepared for sale. Suchvehicles and vehicle parts, as well as rare or hard to find vehicles andvehicle parts may be privately or publicly sold or auctioned through asalvage treatment facility partnering with an entity using oradministrating the treatment system 100. Any unwanted vehicle parts thatremain after dismantling may be shredded or scrapped. Once the salvagelevel has been determined, a salvage treatment facility may beidentified from among the salvage treatment centers (block 714). At aminimum, the selected salvage treatment facility is capable ofperforming the level of salvage necessary. Additional factors may alsobe considered to determine a particular salvage treatment facility. Forexample, the proximity of the salvage treatment facility to the damagedvehicle, e.g., crash site. Further considerations for determining asalvage treatment facility may also include the availability to timelysalvage the vehicle, the existence of a current or prior businessrelationship between the salvage treatment facility and the entity usingor administrating the treatment system 100, etc. When the salvagetreatment facility is determined, information associated with thesalvage of the vehicle may be transmitted by system personnel and/or theprocessing center 102. Such information may include a request totransport the vehicle to the identified salvage treatment facility(block 716). The request to transport the vehicle may be sent to theselected salvage treatment facility 112 or to a vehicle transporter 114capable of transporting the damaged vehicle from the collision site tothe salvage treatment facility.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example treatment system 900capable of being incorporated into the treatment system 100 shown inFIG. 1 and supporting the processes described herein for treating avehicle damaged in a crash. The high-level architecture of the vehicletreatment system 900 includes both hardware and software applications,as well as various data communications channels for communicating databetween the various hardware and software components. The vehicletreatment system 900 may be divided into front-end components 902 andback-end components 904. The front-end components 902 include one ormore computing devices, such as a mobile computing device 910 and/or anon-board computing device 914. Either computing device 910, 914 may bepermanently or removably attached to a vehicle 908 and may interfacewith various sensors coupled to the vehicle 908 (e.g., a speedometer, anaccelerometer, a compass, a global position unit (GPS), spatial sensordisposed throughout the vehicle, etc.) and/or may interface with variousexternal output devices in the vehicle 908, such as one or more tactilealert systems, one or more speakers, one or more displays, etc.

Each of the mobile computing device 910 and the on-board computingdevice 914 is capable of performing all of the functions of thecomputing device described herein or may supplement the functionsperformed by the other computing device. The mobile computing device 910and on-board computing device 914 may communicate with one anotherdirectly over a wired or wireless link 916. In addition, the mobilecomputing device 910 and the on-board computing device 914 maycommunicate with a network 930 over wired or wireless links 912, 918,respectively. The network 930 may be a proprietary network, a securepublic internet, a virtual private network, or some other type ofnetwork, such as dedicated access lines, plain ordinary telephone lines,satellite links, etc., and combinations thereof. Where the network 930comprises the internet, data communications may take place over thenetwork 930 via an internet communication protocol.

The treatment system 900 may also include a notification alert system920 (e.g., automatic collision notification (ACN), advanced automaticcollision or crash notification (AACN), event data recorder (EDR)), thatmay record and/or transmit information associated with treating thevehicle 908 after being involved in a crash. The front-end components902 and the back-end components 904 communicate via the communicationnetwork 930. The back-end components 904 include a computing device suchas a server 940 device or system. The server device 940 may include oneor more processors 962 adapted and configured to execute varioussoftware applications and/or modules of the vehicle treatment system900, in addition to other software routines. The server device 940 mayfurther include a database 946 adapted to store the various softwareapplications, modules, and/or routines as well as data related to theoperation of the vehicle treatment system 900. The data may include, forexample, information collected by the mobile computing device 910 and/orthe on-board computing device 914 pertaining to the vehicle treatmentsystem 900 and uploaded to the server device 940, such as sensor inputs,analyses corresponding to the methods discussed above, and images. Otherkinds of information that may be stored in the database may includehistorical vehicle collision data compiled from crash data involvingvehicles categorized in the same or similar type of vehicle as thevehicle 908 and contact information relating to vehicle service repairand/or salvage treatment facilities, part suppliers, vehicletransporters, vehicle owner, insurance personnel, etc. The computingdevices 910, 914 and/or server device 940 may access or store dataand/or software applications in the database 946 when executing variousfunctions and tasks associated with the operation of the vehicletreatment system 900.

Although the vehicle treatment system 900 is shown to include one serverdevice 940, one mobile computing device 910, and one on-board computingdevice 914, it should be understood that additional server devices 940,mobile computing devices 910, and on-board computing devices 914 may beutilized. For example, the system 900 may include several server devices940 and numerous mobile computing devices 910, all of which may beinterconnected via the network 930. As discussed above, the mobilecomputing device 910 may perform the various functions described hereinin conjunction with the on-board computing device 914 or alone.Likewise, the on-board computing device 914 may perform the variousfunctions described herein in conjunction with the mobile computingdevice 910 or alone. In either instance, the mobile computing device 910or on-board computing device may not need to be present. Furthermore,the processing performed by the one or more server devices 940 may bedistributed among a plurality of server devices 940 configured in anarrangement known as “cloud computing.” This arrangement may provideseveral advantages, such as, for example, enabling near real-timeuploads and downloads of information as well as periodic uploads anddownloads of information. This arrangement may provide for a thin-clientembodiment of the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914 described herein as well as a primary backup of some or allof the data gathered by the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914. All of the information involved with the treatmentsystem 100, for example, crash information, collision data, VDI/VINdata, images, historical loss information, damage evaluation tools,damaged vehicle parts list, inventory of vehicle parts stored at thestorage facility, vehicle transporters, treatment centers, customercontact information, insurance agent/entity contact information, etc.may be displayed in a variety of formats at the server device 940,wherein system personnel and/or the processing center 102 is providedaccess to such information for treating the damaged vehicle.

The server device 940 may have a controller 955 that is operativelyconnected to the database 946 via a link 956. The controller 955 mayalso be operatively connected to the network 930 via a communicationlink 935. It should be noted that, while not shown, additional databasesmay be linked to the controller 955 in a known manner. The controller955 may include a program memory 960, a processor 962 (e.g., amicroprocessor or a microcontroller), a random-access memory (RAM) 964,input/output (I/O) circuitry 966, and a user interface module 963 all ofwhich may be interconnected via an address/data bus 965. The userinterface module 963 facilitates human-to-machine interaction and mayinclude a display screen, keyboard, mouse device, microphone, speaker,etc. Although the I/O circuitry 966 is shown as a single block, the I/Ocircuitry 966 may include a number of different types of I/O circuits.The program memory 960 may be configured to store computer-readableinstructions that when executed by the processor 962 cause the serverdevice 940 to implement a server application 942 and/or a web server943. The instructions for the server application 942 may cause theserver device 940 to implement the methods described herein. While shownas a single block in FIG. 7, it will be appreciated that the serverapplication 942 may include a number of different programs, modules,routines, sub-routines, etc., that may separately or collectively causethe server device 940 to implement the server application 942. It shouldalso be appreciated that although only one processor 962 is shown, thecontroller 955 may include multiple processors and/or microprocessors.Similarly, the memory of the controller 955 may include multiple RAMs964 and multiple program memories 960. The RAM(s) 964 and programmemories 960 may be implemented as semiconductor memories, magneticallyreadable memories, and/or optically readable memories, for example.Further, while the instructions for the server application 942 and webserver 943 are shown being stored in the program memory 960, theinstructions may additionally or alternatively be stored in the database946 and/or RAM 964.

Alternatively, the vehicle treatment system 900 may include only thefront-end components 902. For example, a mobile computing device 910and/or on-board computing device 914 may perform any and/or all of theprocessing associated with compiling or gathering crash information,determining a treatment complexity level based on the crash information,determining a treatment for the vehicle based on the a treatmentcomplexity level; and transmitting information associated with thetreatment of the vehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the mobile computing device 910 may include auser interface module 1002, a positioning module 1006 such as a globalpositioning system (GPS) module, a communication module 1020 which mayinclude one or more wireless radios, a forward image capture module1018, a rearward image capture module 1022, an accelerometer array 1024,and a controller 1004. Similarly, the on-board computing device 914 mayinclude a user interface module 1002, a GPS module 1006, a communicationmodule 1020 which may include one or more wireless radios, a forwardimage capture module 1018, a rearward image capture module 1022, anaccelerometer array 1024, and a controller 1004.

The mobile computing device 910 and on-board computing device 914 may beintegrated into a single device that can perform the functions of bothdevices. It will be appreciated that functions performed by either themobile computing device 910 or the on-board computing device 914 mayalso be performed by the on-board computing device 914 in cooperationwith the mobile computing device 910. The mobile computing device 910may be a general-use mobile personal computer, cellular phone,smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer (e.g., a watch, glasses,etc.), or a device dedicated to facilitating treatment of a damagedvehicle. The on-board computing device 914 may be a general-use on-boardcomputer capable of performing the functions relating to vehicleoperation or dedicated to facilitate treatment of a damaged vehicle. Theon-board computing device 914 may be installed by the manufacturer ofthe vehicle 908 or as an aftermarket modification to the vehicle.Further, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914 may be a thin-client device that outsources some or mostprocessing to the server device 940.

Similar to the controller 955, the controller 1004 includes a programmemory 1008, a microprocessor (MP) 1010, a random-access memory (RAM)1012, and input/output (I/O) circuitry 1016, all of which areinterconnected via an address/data bus 1014. Although the I/O circuitry1016 is depicted in FIG. 8 as a single block, the I/O circuitry 1016 mayinclude a number of different types of I/O circuits. The program memory1008 includes an operating system 1026, a data storage device 1028, aplurality of software applications 1030, and a plurality of softwareroutines 1034. The operating system 1026 may include one of a pluralityof mobile platforms such as the iOS®, Android™, Palm® webOS, Windows®Mobile/Phone, BlackBerry® OS, or Symbian® OS mobile technologyplatforms, developed by Apple Inc., Google Inc., Palm Inc. (nowHewlett-Packard Company), Microsoft Corporation, Research in Motion(RIM), and Nokia, respectively. The data storage 1028 may includeapplication data for the plurality of applications 1030, routine datafor the plurality of routines 1034, and other data necessary to interactwith the server 940 through the network 930. In particular, the datastorage device 1028 may include vehicle collision data associated with avehicle type that includes the vehicle 908. The vehicle type may includethe make, model, and year of the vehicle. The vehicle collision data mayinclude one or more compilations of recorded measurements of damagedvehicle parts and components and the corresponding acceleration andderived vectors, e.g., velocity and direction, of such characteristicsattributed for the damage. In some embodiments, the controller 1004 mayalso include, or otherwise be operatively coupled for communication withother data storage mechanisms (e.g., one or more hard disk drives,optical storage drives, solid state storage devices, etc.) that mayreside within the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computer914 or operatively coupled to the network 930 and/or server device 940.

The GPS module 1006 may use “Assisted GPS” (A-GPS), satellite GPS, orany other suitable global positioning protocol or system that locatesvehicle 908 via the position of the mobile computing device 910 and/oron-board computing device 914. For example, A-GPS utilizes terrestrialcell phone towers or Wi-Fi hotspots (e.g., wireless router points) tomore accurately and more quickly determine the location of the vehicle908 via the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device914 while satellite GPS is generally more useful in more remote regionsthat lack cell towers or Wi-Fi hotspots. The GPS module 1006 may alsofacilitate the determination of the velocity and direction of thevehicle 908, via the coupling of the mobile computing device 910 and/oron-board computing device 914 to the vehicle.

The accelerometer array 1024 is one example of a telematics device ormodule that may incorporate one or more accelerometers positioned todetermine the acceleration and direction of movements of the mobilecomputing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914, whicheffectively correlate to the acceleration and direction of movements ofthe vehicle 908. In some embodiments, the accelerometer array 1024 mayinclude an X-axis accelerometer 1024 x, a Y-axis accelerometer 1024 y,and a Z-axis accelerometer 1024 z to measure the acceleration anddirection of movement in each respective dimension. It will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a threedimensional vector describing a movement of the vehicle 908 via themobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 throughthree dimensional space can be established by combining the outputs ofthe X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis accelerometers 1024 x, y, z using knownmethods. Single- and multi-axis models of the accelerometer 1024 arecapable of detecting magnitude and direction of acceleration as a vectorquantity, and may be used to sense orientation and/or coordinateacceleration of the vehicle 908.

The forward and rearward image capture module 1018, 1022 may be built-incameras within the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914 and/or may be peripheral cameras, such as webcams, camerasinstalled inside the vehicle 908, cameras installed outside the vehicle908, etc., that are communicatively coupled with the mobile computingdevice 910 and/or on-board computing device 914. The image capturemodule 1018, 1022 may be oriented toward the front and rear of thevehicle 908. For example, the forward image capture module 1018 may beoriented toward the front of the vehicle 908 to observe the forward areaof the vehicle 908 while the rearward image capture module 1022 may beoriented toward the rear of the vehicle 908 to observe the rearward areaof the vehicle 908, or vice-versa. Some embodiments of the treatmentsystem 900 may have both a forward image capture module 1018 and arearward image capture module 1022, but other embodiments may have onlyone or no image capture module. Further, either or both of the forwardimage capture module 1018 and the rearward image capture module 1022 mayinclude an infrared illuminator 1018 i, 1022 i, respectively, tofacilitate low light and/or night image capturing. Such an infraredilluminator 1018 i, 1022 i may be automatically activated when light isinsufficient for image capturing.

The GPS module 1006, the image capture modules 1018, 1022, and theaccelerometer array 1024 may be referred to collectively as the“sensors” of the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computingdevice 914. Of course, it will be appreciated that additional GPSmodules 1006, image capture modules 1018, 1022, and/or the accelerometerarrays 1024 may be operatively coupled to the mobile computing device910 and/or on-board computing device 914. Further, the mobile computingdevice 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 may also include or becoupled to other sensors such as a thermometer, microphone, thermalimage capture device, biomedical sensor, etc. The microphone may beincorporated with the user interface module 1002 and used to receivevoice inputs from the vehicle operator while the thermometer and/orthermal image capture device may be used to determine fire or heatdamage to the vehicle 908, and the biomedical sensor may capturebiological characteristics of the vehicle operator.

The communication module 1020 may communicate with the server device 940via any suitable wired or wireless communication protocol network, suchas a wireless telephony network (e.g., GSM, CDMA, LTE, etc.), a Wi-Finetwork (802.11 standards), a WiMAX network, a Bluetooth network, etc.The communication unit 1020 may also be capable of communicating using anear field communication standard (e.g., ISO/IEC 18092, standardsprovided by the NFC Forum, etc.).

The mobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 mayinclude the user-input interface 1002, which may include a “soft”keyboard that is presented on a display screen of the mobile computingdevice 910 and/or on-board computing device 914, an external hardwarekeyboard communicating via a wired or a wireless connection (e.g., aBluetooth keyboard), and an external mouse, or any other suitableuser-input device or component (see examples in FIG. 8). As describedearlier, the user-input module 1002 may also include a microphone (notshown) capable of receiving voice input from a vehicle operator as wellas a display screen.

With reference to the controllers 955, 1004, it should be appreciatedthat although FIG. 8 depicts only one microprocessor 1010, thecontroller 1004 may include multiple microprocessors 1010. The memory ofthe controller 1004 may also include multiple RAMs 1012 and multipleprogram memories 1008. The controller 1004 may implement the RAM 1012and the program memories 1008 as semiconductor memories, magneticallyreadable memories, and/or optically readable memories, for example. Theone or more processors 1010 may be adapted and configured to execute anyof the plurality of software applications 1030 and/or any of theplurality of software routines 1034 residing in the program memory 1008,in addition to other software applications. One of the plurality ofapplications 1030 may be a client application 1032 that may beimplemented as a series of machine-readable instructions for performingthe various functions associated with implementing the vehicle treatmentsystem 900 as well as receiving information at, displaying informationon, and transmitting information from the mobile device 910 and/or theon-board computing device 914. A client application 1032 may function toimplement a system wherein the front-end components 902 communicate andcooperate with back-end components 904 as described above. The clientapplication 1032 may include machine-readable instructions forimplementing the user interface 1002 to allow a user to input commandsto, and receive information from, the vehicle treatment system 900. Oneof the plurality of applications 1030 may be a native web browser 1036,such as Apple's Safari®, Google Android™ mobile web browser, MicrosoftInternet Explorer® for Mobile, Opera Mobile™, that may be implemented asa series of machine-readable instructions for receiving, interpreting,and displaying web page information from the server device 940 or otherback-end components 904 while also receiving inputs from the vehicleoperator. Another application of the plurality of applications mayinclude an embedded web browser 1042 that may be implemented as a seriesof machine-readable instructions for receiving, interpreting, anddisplaying web page information from the server device 940 or otherback-end components 904 within the client application 1032.

Another of the plurality of client applications 1030 or routines 1034may include an accelerometer routine 1038 that determines theacceleration and direction of movements of the mobile computing device910 and/or on-board computing device 914, which correlate to theacceleration and direction of the vehicle 908. The accelerometer routinemay process data from the accelerometer array 1024 to determine one ormore vectors describing the motion of the vehicle 908 for use with theclient application 1032. In some embodiments where the accelerometerarray 1024 has X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis accelerometers 1024 x,y,z, theaccelerometer routine 1038 may combine the data from each accelerometer1024 x,y,z to establish the vectors describing the motion of the vehicle908 as it moves through three dimensional space. In some embodiments,the accelerometer routine 1038 may use data pertaining to less thanthree axes.

Another routine in the plurality of applications 1030 or routines 1034may include a vehicle velocity routine 1040 that coordinates with theGPS module 1006 to retrieve vehicle velocity and direction informationfor use with one or more of the plurality of applications, such as theclient application 1032, or for use with other routines.

Yet another routine in the plurality of applications 1030 or routines1034 may include an image capture routine that coordinates with theimage capture modules 1018, 1022 to retrieve image data for use with oneor more of the plurality of applications, such as the client application1032, or for use with other routines.

Another routine in the plurality of applications 1030 or routines 1034may include a position determination routine that coordinates with thespatial sensors disposed throughout the vehicle to determine theposition of vehicle parts relative to the vehicle for use with one ormore of the plurality of applications, such as the client application1032, or for use with other routines.

The user or vehicle operator may also launch or instantiate any othersuitable user interface application (e.g., the native web browser 1036,or any other one of the plurality of software applications 1030) toaccess the server device 940 to implement the vehicle treatment system900. Additionally, the user or vehicle operator may launch the clientapplication 1032 from the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914, to access the server device 940 to implement thevehicle treatment system 900.

After the vehicle operating information (e.g., acceleration, velocity,and direction) has been gathered or determined by the sensors or themobile computing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914,previously recorded collision data may be utilized to determine theextent of damage to the vehicle 908 involved in a crash. Once the extentof the damage has been assessed, a treatment for the vehicle 908 can bedetermined. For example, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may determine that the damaged vehicle can berepaired or scrapped, and where the damaged vehicle may be taken forsuch treatment. The mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may also transmit information associated with thetreatment of the damaged vehicle. For example, the transmittedinformation may be sent to a treatment facility capable of performingthe treatment and/or the information may be sent to a transportationfacility and include a request to transport the damaged vehicle to thetreatment facility.

In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may display on the user interface 1002 an initialloss report screen including, for example, a cost estimate for treatingthe vehicle, for example, based on one or more repair codes. The initialloss report screen may also include other treatment information such asthe crash information, the vehicle type including make and model, thetreatment complexity level, an estimated repair duration for repairingthe vehicle, a list of damaged parts associated with such collision,treatment facilities capable of treating the vehicle and theirrespective availabilities, etc. The display may also include optionsallowing the user to select a treatment facility from the list oftreatment facilities, transfer funds into the user's personal account,schedule a rental car, etc.

In this manner, a user is provided with the option to select from thebest, nearby treatment facilities for treating the damaged vehicle on asimple, easy to read display. Moreover, treatment scores for eachtreatment facility are constantly updated, such that the user isprovided with the best, nearby treatment facilities according to themost recent treatment scores.

In embodiments where the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 is a thin-client device, the server device 940 mayperform many of the processing functions remotely that may otherwise beperformed by system personnel and/or the mobile computing device 910and/or on-board computing device 914. In such embodiments, the serverdevice 940 may include a number of software applications capable ofreceiving vehicle operating information gathered by the sensors and/oracquiring collision data to be used in determining the extent of damageto the vehicle 908 involved in the crash. For example, the mobilecomputing device 910 and/or on-board computing device 914 may gatherinformation from its sensors as described herein, but instead of usingthe information locally, the mobile computing device 910 and/or on-boardcomputing device 914 may send the information to the server device 940for remote processing. The server device 940 may perform the analysis ofthe gathered crash information to determine the amount of damage to thevehicle 908 as described herein. The server device 940 may thendetermine whether the damaged vehicle can be repaired or scrapped, andwhere the damaged vehicle may be taken for such treatment (e.g., basedon receiving a list of treatment facilities within a geographic area andranking the facilities as described above with reference to FIGS.6A-6D). The server device 940 may also transmit information associatedwith the treatment of the damaged vehicle. For example, the informationtransmitted by the server device 940 may be sent to a treatment facilityand/or a transport facility and include a request to transport thedamaged vehicle to the treatment facility, or the server device 940 maytransmit the information to the mobile computing device 910 and/oron-board computing device 914.

FIGS. 9A-C depict application screens or web pages that may be presentedon the user interface 1002 of the mobile computing device 910 as part ofthe user interface used to implement the vehicle treatment system 900.While FIGS. 9A-C depict web pages or application screens of informationcapable of being presented on the display 1002 of the mobile computingdevice 910, it is to be understood that the application screens or webpages could be displayed on the display 1002 of the on-board computingdevice 914, or on any other web-enabled computing device (e.g., a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a wearable computingdevice, etc.), in addition to being displayed on the mobile device 910or as an alternative. In addition, the application screens or web pagesmay also be displayed on the user interface 963 of the server device940. The application screens or web pages may be generated by the mobilecomputing device 910/914 or sent to the mobile computing device 910/914by the server 940 (e.g., as with a thin client). The user may launch theapplication from the mobile computing device 910/914 via any suitablemanner, such as touch-selecting a client application icon on the display1002 of the mobile computing device 910/914, speaking a voice commandinto the microphone (not shown) of the mobile computing device 910/914,double-clicking on the client application icon via a mouse (not shown)of a computer or a trackpad (not shown) of a laptop, touch-selecting ordouble-clicking on a web page or initiating the application from any ofthe vehicle's on-board system(s), telematics devices, etc. After theuser launches the application 1032, the application 1032 may begin torun on the mobile computing device 910/914 as described above inconnection to block 202, FIG. 2; or the mobile computing device 910 maycommunicate with the on-board computing device 914 and the clientapplication 1032 may begin to run on the on-board computing device 914.

With reference now to FIG. 9A, an example initial loss report screen1100 of the client application and/or routine may be displayed on thescreen of the mobile computing device 910/914 or any other web-enabledcomputing device. In some embodiments the initial loss report screen1100 may be displayed on a screen for the system personnel. The initialloss report screen 1100 may include a vehicle information section 1110including VDI/VIN data, a crash information section 1112, a treatmentcomplexity level section 1122, a recommended treatment facility section1114, an estimated repair duration section 1116, a listing of damagedparts from a collision, an estimated cost of repair section 1120, and avehicle repair status section 1118. However, this is merely an exampleinitial loss report screen 1100. It should be understood that additionalor alternative sections may be included on the initial loss reportscreen 1100, and in some embodiments, some of the above mentionedsections may be omitted. Moreover, while the initial loss report screen1100 displays a damaged vehicle entering the repair process, it shouldalso be understood that the initial loss report screen can display adamaged vehicle entering the scrap and/or salvage process. In such anembodiment, the recommended treatment facility section 1114 may includesalvage treatment centers, and the estimated cost of repair section 1120may include the market value of the vehicle.

Further, in some embodiments, the set of repair codes may be generatedbased on additional or alternative crash characteristics and in otherembodiments some of the above mentioned crash characteristics may beomitted when generating the set of repair codes.

The vehicle information section 1110 may include VDI/VIN data such asthe make, model, year, and/or type of vehicle. The vehicle informationsection 1110 may also include policy-holder information such as the nameof the insured, the policy number, the insurance agent, etc.

As mentioned above, the example initial loss report screen 1100 may alsoinclude a crash information section 1112 which may include telematicsdata from the vehicle such as vehicle acceleration, velocity, direction,braking distance, whether the vehicle's airbags deployed, whether thevehicle is drivable, position of vehicle parts within the vehicle, etc.The crash information section 1112 may also include images of thedamaged vehicle or any other suitable impact characteristics of thevehicle involved in the crash.

The crash information may then be compared to collision data such as thecollision data 106 of FIG. 1 to identify a treatment complexity level.For example, the treatment complexity level section 1122 identifies thetreatment complexity level for the damaged vehicle as “Level 2: LightRepair.” The identified treatment complexity level may be displayed as,for example, “Level 1: Speed Repair,” “Level 2: Light Repair,” “Level 3:Medium Repair,” “Level 4: Heavy Repair,” “Salvage,” “Scrap,” or anyother suitable treatment complexity level. Moreover, in someembodiments, an image of the damaged vehicle may be displayed along withthe identified treatment complexity level to confirm that the complexitylevel appears to match with the amount of damage to the vehicle. Forexample, in the treatment complexity level section 1122 the damagedvehicle appears to have damage to the hood and nowhere else which seemsto correspond to “Level 2: Light Repair.”

Based on the treatment complexity level, the initial loss report screen1100 may display a cost estimate for treating the vehicle in theestimated cost of repair section 1120. As described above, theprocessing center 102 may determine a cost estimate for treating thevehicle by identifying a list of damaged vehicle parts in the damagedvehicle, generating a repair code for each damaged vehicle part andaggregating the cost estimates associated with each repair code tocalculate an estimate of a total cost of repair. In other embodiments,the cost estimate may be determined in any other suitable manner, forexample, based on the historical loss information. This estimate may bedisplayed, and in the example initial loss report screen 1100, the costestimate for treating the vehicle is $1,850. The estimated cost ofrepair section 1120 may also include a base vehicle value which may beobtained from a vehicle valuation service such as Kelley Blue Book. Insome embodiments, if the damaged vehicle is determined to be a totalloss and/or if the processing center 102 determines the damaged vehicleshould be salvaged, the cost estimate for treating the vehicle may bethe base vehicle value.

In addition to including an estimated cost of repair, the initial lossreport screen 1100 may include a vehicle repair status section 1118,indicating the current status of vehicle repair. In some embodiments,steps in the repair process which have been completed may be denoted bya check mark or an ‘X’ next to the step, by highlighting, bolding, orunderlining the step, or in any other suitable manner. For example, inthe vehicle repair status section 1118, the steps “Refinish Hood,”“Refinish Fender,” and “Replace Grille,” have been completed as denotedby the check marks next to each respective step, whereas the step“Replace Door,” has not. In this manner, a user may become aware ofroughly how much time is left for the treatment facility to completerepairs on the vehicle. Treatment facility personnel may update thestatus of vehicle repair via a computing device at the treatmentfacility (e.g., by selecting one or more user controls on a display).The updated status may then be transmitted to the processing center 102,which in turn, may transmit the updated status via the clientapplication 1032 to the mobile computing device 910/914, or any otherweb-enabled device.

A repair duration may also be estimated in the estimated repair durationsection 1116. The repair duration may be estimated based on an averageduration for repairing similar type vehicles having similar type damageas the damaged vehicle which were damaged in past collisions. Theaverage duration may be determined based on the collision data 106.Moreover, the estimated cost of repair section 1120 may include aprojected days of repair which may be the same or different than theaverage duration for repairing similar type vehicles. The projected daysof repair may be based on the most recent past collisions involvingsimilar type vehicles having similar type damage as the damaged vehicle.The projected days of repair may also be based on the average durationfor repairing similar type vehicles having similar type damage byrecommended treatment facilities in the recommended treatment facilitysection 1114. Moreover, in some embodiments, the repair duration may bebased on the current status of vehicle repair. For example, as steps inthe repair process become completed, the projected days of repair maydecrease.

The initial loss report screen 1100 may display a list of recommendedtreatment facilities capable of performing the requisite treatment atthe requisite treatment complexity level and/or within a geographic area(e.g., within 200 miles of the damaged vehicle). For example, asdescribed above, the processing center 102 may obtain a list oftreatment facilities and assign each treatment facility a particulartreatment complexity level (e.g., “Level 1: Speed Repair”). For eachtreatment complexity level, the assigned treatment facilities may beranked according to several treatment facility evaluationcharacteristics as described above. For example, the treatment facilityevaluation characteristics may include repair duration data for thetreatment facility, a treatment facility quality rating, a treatmentfacility availability, a price schedule for treating damaged vehicles,treatment facility location data, a ranking for one or more suppliersused by the treatment facility, etc. The highest ranking treatmentfacilities assigned to the identified treatment complexity level asdisplayed in treatment complexity level section 1122, may then bedisplayed in the recommended treatment facility section 1114. Forexample, Joe's Auto, Smith Collision, and Performance A/B may be thethree highest ranking treatment facilities designated as “Level 2: LightRepair” treatment facilities. While three treatment facilities aredisplayed in the recommended treatment facility section 1114, theinitial loss report screen 1100 may include two facilities, fourfacilities, five facilities, ten facilities, any subset of treatmentfacilities assigned to the identified treatment complexity level, or anyother suitable number of recommended treatment facilities. In someembodiments, the processing center 102 may include a predeterminedthreshold ranking, and each treatment facility assigned to theidentified treatment complexity level and above the predeterminedthreshold ranking may be displayed in the recommended treatment facilitysection 1114.

Each recommended treatment facility may also include one or several ofthe treatment facility evaluation characteristics such as location datafor the treatment facility which may include a distance from the damagedvehicle. For example, the recommended treatment facility section 1114displays an indication that Joe's Auto is 2.3 miles away, SmithCollision is 3.1 miles away, and Performance A/B is 5.6 miles away.Further, the recommended treatment facilities may include the treatmentfacility availability characteristic such as a projected date forbeginning treatment on the vehicle. In some embodiments, the recommendedtreatment facility section 1114 may include calendars displaying anavailable date for each recommended treatment facility to begintreatment on the damaged vehicle. For example, Joe's Auto may begintreatment on April 1, Smith Collision may begin treatment on April 3,and Performance A/B may begin treatment on April 9. In some embodiments,the recommended treatment facility section 1114 may display availabletimes in addition to the available dates (e.g., morning, afternoon,evening, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., etc.). Moreover, in some embodiments, therecommended treatment facility section 1114 may include the treatmentfacility quality rating characteristic such as grades for each of therecommended treatment facilities. The grades may be letter grades suchas “A,” “B,” “C”, etc., may be a numerical score, for example, from oneto one hundred, may be the ranking of the treatment facilities asdetermined by the processing center 102, may be categories such as“high,” “medium,” “low,” “poor,” may be a number of stars, for example,ranging from one to five stars, etc. The grades may be based on theranking of the treatment facilities as determined by the processingcenter 102, may be based on the quality of the treatment facilitieswithin the specified geographic area as compared to other treatmentfacilities in other geographic areas, or may be determined in any othersuitable manner.

Each recommended treatment facility may include the repair duration datacharacteristic such as an estimated number of days for completing thetreatment. In some scenarios, the estimated number of days forcompleting the treatment may be the same as the estimated repairduration in the estimated repair duration section 1116. In otherscenarios, the estimated number of days may be different and may bedetermined based on collision data for vehicles in past collisions whichwere treated by the recommended treatment facility. For example, Joe'sAuto may typically complete a “Level 2: Light Repair” for Hondas in fourdays, whereas Smith Collision may typically complete a “Level 2: LightRepair” for Hondas in three days. Moreover, the estimated number of daysfor completing the treatment may be determined based on collision datafor vehicle treated by the recommended treatment facility and havingsimilar type damage. For example, Performance A/B may typically completea “Level 2: Light Repair” for Hondas having slight damage to the fenderin two days. In some embodiments, the estimated number of days forcompleting the treatment may be displayed on the calendars in additionto the available dates for beginning treatment. For example, thecalendar for Joe's Auto may include April 1 marked on the calendarindicating Joe's Auto expects to begin treatment on April 1. Further,the calendar for Joe's Auto may also have April 5 marked indicatingJoe's Auto expects to complete treatment on April 5 meaning thetreatment is expected to last four days. The dates may be marked on thecalendar by highlighting the dates, by placing an ‘X’ over the dates, bydisplaying the dates in different colors, or in any other suitablemanner. In some embodiments, a user of the client application or webpage such as a policy-holder and/or owner of the damaged vehicle, mayselect one of the recommended treatment facilities from the recommendedtreatment facility section 1114 by, for example, touch-selecting ordouble clicking on the recommended treatment facility.

In some embodiments, the initial loss report screen 1100 may alsoinclude one or several user controls for scheduling a rental car whilethe damaged vehicle receives treatment. For example, if the user selectsthe schedule a rental car option via the user control, the clientapplication 1032 may display a rental car webpage including rental ratesand availability for one or several car rental companies.

After the user selects a recommended treatment facility, the clientapplication 1032 may display a pre-authorization screen such as thepre-authorization screen 1140 as shown in FIG. 9B. FIG. 9B depicts anexample pre-authorization screen 1140 which may be displayed on thescreen of the mobile computing device 910/914 or any other web-enabledcomputing device. When a user selects a treatment facility from therecommended treatment facility section 1114, the processing center 102may transmit the pre-authorization screen which asks the user whethershe pre-authorizes the selected treatment facility to begin repairs onher vehicle before receiving an itemized list of parts and labor and atotal cost for the treatment 1142. The pre-authorization screen alsoincludes user controls for selecting “Yes” 1144 and “No” 1146. If theuser double-clicks or touch selects the “Yes” button 1144, theprocessing center 102 may then transmit information associated with thetreatment to the selected treatment facility (e.g., the treatmentcomplexity level, a list of damaged vehicle parts, the cost estimate,etc.) as well as a notification that the treatment facility isauthorized to complete the treatment. In addition, the processing center102 may transmit a request to a vehicle transporter or to the treatmentfacility to transport the damaged vehicle to the selected treatmentfacility.

On the other hand, if the user double-clicks or touch selects the “No”button 1146, the processing center 102 may transmit a request to theselected treatment facility to deliver an itemized list of parts andlabor as well as the cost for performing the treatment. In someembodiments, the processing center 102 may transmit the informationassociated with the treatment to the selected treatment facility for thetreatment facility to compare with when inspecting the vehicle. Theprocessing center 102 may also transmit a request to a vehicletransporter or to the treatment facility to transport the damagedvehicle to the selected treatment facility. In this example scenario,the selected transmit facility may then inspect the vehicle and generatethe itemized list of parts and labor and as well as the cost forperforming the treatment. When the itemized list is generated, theselected transmit facility may then send the list to the processingcenter 102. In turn, the processing center 102 may send a pushnotification to the mobile computing device 910/914 or any otherweb-enabled device indicating that the selected treatment facility hasinspected the vehicle and generated an itemized list of parts. Theclient application 1032 may then display an authorization screen 1150 asshown in FIG. 9C.

The authorization screen 1150 may include the itemized list of parts andlabor 1152 as well as the total cost for the treatment 1154. Moreover,the authorization screen may ask the user whether she authorizes therepair 1156. If the user double-clicks or touch selects the “Yes” button1158, the processing center 102 may then transmit an indication to theselected treatment facility that the repair has been authorized and toproceed with the repair. If the user double-clicks or touch selects the“No” button 1160, the processing center 102 may transmit an indicationto the selected treatment facility that the repair has not beenauthorized and may request that the vehicle is not worked on untilfurther notice. System personnel and/or the processing center 102 maythen contact the user asking why the repair is not authorized and if theuser would like to select another treatment facility. In otherembodiments, after the user selects the “No” button 1160, the clientapplication 1032 may display the initial loss report screen 1100 of FIG.9A and may remove the selected treatment facility from the recommendedtreatment facility section 1114.

Moreover, if the user selects the “Yes” button 1158, the clientapplication 1032 may display a screen (not shown) prompting the user toreceive funds. If the user agrees, the system personnel, an insuranceagent and/or the processing center 102 may electronically transmit fundsequal to the total cost for the treatment 1154 into the user's personalaccount such as a bank account.

In some embodiments, the vehicle claims process may be automated fromthe point in which a vehicle is damaged in a crash until the user,vehicle owner and/or policy-holder selects an option to receive fundsinto a personal account. In such an embodiment, the policy-holder mayenter into a pre-existing agreement with the insurance provider that theinsurance provider can automatically select the treatment facility andcan also automatically determine the total cost of repair or the valueof the vehicle in the case of total loss. In this manner, the processingspeed of the vehicle repair process is increased, such that when avehicle is damaged in a crash, the vehicle owner may receive funds andthe vehicle may be transmitted to the treatment facility just after thecrash occurs. This technique may provide an efficient and effectiveprocess for routing vehicle repairs, saving time for vehicle owners andensuring that an optimal treatment facility is selected for treating thedamaged vehicle.

FIG. 10 depicts an example method 1200 for automatically streamliningthe vehicle claims process. System personnel and/or the processingcenter 102 may receive authorization, via a pre-existing agreement,allowing an automatic claims process (block 1210). The pre-existingagreement may apply to all insurance claims for a policy-holder or mayspecifically apply to claims regarding a particular crash. After theautomatic claims process is authorized, which may occur at the time ofthe crash or at an earlier date before the crash occurs, crashcharacteristics may be provided to the processing center 102 fromtelematics devices operatively coupled to the vehicle (block 1212). Someexamples of crash characteristics include VDI/VIN data, vehicleacceleration, velocity, position of vehicle parts within the vehicle,direction, images of the vehicle, whether the vehicle can be startedand/or driven, if the vehicle's airbags or other safety systems weredeployed as a result of the crash, etc. Some crash information may beattained by an accelerometer, image capturing modules such as theforward and rear image capture modules, and an array of sensorsincluding spatial sensors at the time of the crash. The crashinformation may be transmitted via a wireless communication module tothe processing center 102.

The processing center 102 may then analyze the crash information asdescribed above. For example, the processing center 102 may compare thecrash characteristics to collision data (block 1214). The collision datamay include historical loss information of similar type vehicles damagedin past collisions. The collision data may be compiled from pastcollisions and/or from laboratory crash test results involving othervehicles of the same or similar type as the damaged vehicle. Thecollision data may further include one or several combinations of impactor collision characteristics that are equated and/or associated to aknown amount of vehicle damage. For example, vehicle damage associatedwith front-end impacts at various vehicle speeds may be associated witha list of vehicle parts likely to need repair and/or replacement fromsuch impacts. By comparing the crash characteristics of the damagedvehicle to impact and/or collision characteristics of the collisiondata, damage to individual vehicle parts may be identified (block 1216).For example, the processing center 102 may identify damage to the hood,the rear quarter panel, the side panel, the roof, etc.

In addition to identifying damage to individual vehicle parts, thecomparison may also be analyzed to determine the extent of the damage tovehicle parts (block 1218). For example, the crash characteristics ofthe damaged vehicle may be compared to collision data to determinewhether the damaged vehicle parts need to be repaired and/or replaced.In addition to determining whether the damaged vehicle parts need to berepaired, the comparison may also be analyzed to determine whether therepair will be a light, moderate, heavy, etc., repair.

Once the extent of the damage is estimated for each damaged vehiclepart, the processing center 102 may identify the requisite treatmentcomplexity level (block 1220). For example, a vehicle damage estimaterequiring less than 10 hours of repair time or $1000 in vehicle partsand labor may be designated as a low treatment complexity level; avehicle damage estimate requiring between 10-15 hours of repair time orbetween $1000-$2500 in vehicle parts and labor may be designated as amedium treatment complexity level; a vehicle damage estimate requiringbetween 15-30 hours of repair time or between $2500-$5000 in vehicleparts and labor may be designated as a high treatment complexity level;and a vehicle damage estimate requiring more than 30 hours of repairtime, or having costs in vehicle parts and labor greater than the valueof the damaged vehicle in an undamaged condition, may be designated as ascrapping treatment complexity level.

Moreover, a repair code from a set of repair codes may be generated foreach of the damaged vehicle parts (block 1222). For example a repaircode may correspond to one or more vehicle characteristics including aparticular vehicle make and model, the vehicle part being repaired, thetype of repair for the vehicle part including whether the vehicle partneeds to be repaired and/or replaced, the extent of the damage to thevehicle part, etc. The repair code may be generated based on the vehiclecharacteristics for the damaged vehicle part, and may be associated witha cost estimate for repairing or replacing the vehicle part. The repaircodes for each damaged vehicle part may then be aggregated (block 1224)to calculate a total cost estimate of repairing the vehicle (block1226). The repair codes may include salvage repair codes for a damagedvehicle entering the scrap and/or salvage process. In such anembodiment, the estimated cost of repair may include the market value ofthe vehicle.

In addition to calculating a cost estimate of repairing the vehicle, theprocessing center 102 may receive a list of treatment facilities withina geographic area (e.g., within 200 miles of the damaged vehicle),assign each treatment facility to a treatment complexity level based onthe treatment facility capability, and rank the treatment facilitiescorresponding to a particular treatment complexity level (block 1228).The treatment facilities may be ranked in a similar manner as describedabove with reference to FIGS. 6B-C.

For example, the treatment facilities may receive treatment scores basedon one or several treatment facility evaluation characteristics. Thetreatment facility evaluation characteristics may include repairduration data for the treatment facility, a treatment facility qualityrating, a treatment facility availability, a price schedule for treatingdamaged vehicles, a treatment facility location, a ranking for one ormore suppliers used by the treatment facility, or any combinationthereof. An overall treatment score may be determined for each treatmentfacility by aggregating and/or combining the treatment scores for thetreatment facility. For example, the treatment scores may be addedtogether, weighted, scaled, or otherwise mathematically combined asdesired to determine an overall treatment score for a treatmentfacility. The processing center 102 may then rank the treatmentfacilities capable of performing vehicle treatment at a particulartreatment complexity level based on their respective overall treatmentscores. For example, the treatment facility having the highest overalltreatment score may be ranked first while the treatment facility havingthe lowest overall treatment score may be ranked last. In someembodiments, the processing center 102 may store several sets ofrankings for the damaged vehicle, each set corresponding to treatmentfacilities assigned to a different treatment complexity level. Forexample, the processing center 102 may store a set of rankings for thedamaged vehicle of speed or light repair treatment facilities, a set ofrankings of medium or moderate repair treatment facilities, a set ofrankings of heavy or severe repair treatment facilities, a set ofrankings of salvage treatment facilities, etc.

Then, a treatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle may bedetermined based on the rankings. The processing center 102 mayautomatically select the highest ranking treatment facilitycorresponding to the same treatment complexity level as the damagedvehicle (block 1230). For example, if the treatment complexity level forthe damaged vehicle is speed or light repair, the processing center 102may automatically select the highest ranking speed or light repairtreatment facility.

In some embodiments, once a treatment facility is selected, theprocessing center 102 may transmit the estimated total cost of repair asdetermined at block 1226 to the selected treatment facility with anotification requesting that the treatment facility confirm performingthe treatment for the price of the estimated total cost of repair. Theprocessing center 102 may also transmit information associated with thetreatment to the selected treatment facility (e.g., the treatmentcomplexity level, a list of damaged vehicle parts, the cost estimate,etc.), so that the selected treatment facility can make an informeddecision. If the selected treatment facility confirms performing thetreatment for the price of the estimated total cost of repair, theprocessing center 102 may transmit a notification that the treatmentfacility is authorized to complete the treatment (block 1234). Inaddition, the processing center 102 may transmit a request to a vehicletransporter or to the treatment facility to transport the damagedvehicle to the selected treatment facility.

On the other hand, if the selected treatment facility does not confirmperforming the treatment for the price of the estimated total cost ofrepair (e.g., by transmitting a notification to the processing center102 that the treatment facility cannot perform the treatment for therequested price, or if the treatment facility does not respond to therequest after a predetermined amount of time), the processing center 102may select the next highest ranking treatment facility capable ofperforming the treatment. For example, if the treatment complexity levelfor the damaged vehicle is speed or light repair, the processing center102 may automatically select the second ranked speed or light repairtreatment facility after the top ranked speed or light repair treatmentfacility refuses the request. The processing center 102 may continue toselect treatment facilities until a selected treatment facility acceptsthe request. In some embodiments, the insurance provider may enter intoa pre-existing agreement with one or several treatment facilities, wherethe treatment facilities agree to perform vehicle treatments for theestimated cost of repair as determined by the processing center 102. Insuch embodiments, the selected treatment facility may not receive anotification requesting that the treatment facility confirm performingthe treatment for the price of the estimated total cost of repair, andthe processing center 102 may transmit a request to a vehicletransporter or to the treatment facility to transport the damagedvehicle to the selected treatment facility.

As mentioned above, the processing center 102 may then transmit arequest to a vehicle transporter or to the treatment facility totransport the damaged vehicle to the selected treatment facility. Theprocessing center 102 may also transmit a notification to a user,vehicle owner and/or the policy-holder for the damaged vehicle,including indications of the selected treatment facility, the cost ofrepair, the repair duration, etc. Upon receiving a request from theuser, vehicle owner and/or the policy-holder to transmit funds, theprocessing center 102 may then transmit funds in the amount of the costof repair to a personal account for the user, vehicle owner, and/orpolicy-holder. For example, if the policy-holder provides bank accountinformation to the processing center 102, the processing center 102 maydirectly transmit cost of repair funds into the policy-holder's bankaccount.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware, the routines,etc., are tangible units capable of performing certain operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client orserver computer system) or one or more hardware modules of a computersystem (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured bysoftware (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardwaremodule that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certainoperations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not onlyresiding within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain operations may be distributed among the oneor more processors, not only residing within a single machine, butdeployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, theone or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be locatedin a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, theone or more processors or processor-implemented modules may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still cooperate or interact witheach other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it isobvious that it is meant otherwise.

Although the preceding text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forthat the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construedas example only and does not describe every possible embodiment, asdescribing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if notimpossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, usingeither current technology or technology developed after the filing dateof this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

It should be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in thispatent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘_(——————)’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element isdefined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recitalof any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim elementbe interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixthparagraph.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for automatically streamlining a vehicleclaims process, the method executed by one or more processors programmedto perform the method, the method comprising: receiving, by one or moreprocessors in a client device within a vehicle directly connected to aplurality of sensors, sensor data including a plurality of: vehicle partposition data from spatial sensors disposed within the vehicle, vehicleimage data from an image capturing device disposed within the vehicle,vehicle acceleration data from an accelerometer disposed within thevehicle, vehicle velocity data from a positioning device disposed withinthe vehicle, or vehicle direction data from the positioning device,wherein the client device receives the sensor data from the plurality ofsensors; analyzing, by the one or more processors in the client device,the sensor data to determine crash information and detect a crashinvolving the vehicle; transmitting, by the one or more processors inthe client device, an indication of the detected crash for the vehicleand the crash information including the sensor data from the detectedcrash to a server device; in response to receiving the indication of thedetected crash for the vehicle, automatically determining, by one ormore processors in the server device, a treatment complexity level basedon the crash information for the vehicle, the treatment complexity levelrepresenting a degree of difficulty associated with treating thevehicle; automatically determining, by the one or more processors in theserver device, a total cost associated with treating the vehicle by:automatically identifying one or more damaged vehicle parts within thevehicle based on the crash information; assigning a cost associated witheach of the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and determining the totalcost based on each of the assigned costs associated with each of the oneor more damaged vehicle parts; automatically selecting, by the one ormore processors in the server device, a treatment facility for treatingthe vehicle based on the treatment complexity level; transmitting, bythe one or more processors in the server device, information associatedwith transporting the vehicle to the selected treatment facility; and inresponse to receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle to transmitfunds, transmitting, by the one or more processors in the server device,the funds based on the determined cost to an account for the owner ofthe vehicle.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, atthe one or more processors in the server device, an authorization by theowner of the vehicle for at least one of: automatically selecting atreatment facility for treating the vehicle, or automaticallydetermining a cost associated with treating the vehicle.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein automatically selecting a treatment facility fortreating the vehicle, further comprises automatically selecting thetreatment facility based on whether the treatment facility will completetreatment for the vehicle at the determined cost.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein automatically selecting a treatment facility for treating thevehicle comprises: receiving, at the one or more processors in theserver device, a plurality of indications of treatment facilities;assigning, by the one or more processors in the server device, each ofthe plurality of indications of treatment facilities to one of aplurality of treatment complexity levels; for each of the plurality oftreatment complexity levels, ranking, by the one or more processors inthe server device, each of the plurality of indications of treatmentfacilities assigned to the treatment complexity level based on the oneor more treatment facility evaluation characteristics; and automaticallyselecting, by the one or more processors in the server device, a highestranking treatment facility for treating the vehicle.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the one or more treatment facility evaluationcharacteristics includes at least one of: duration data for thetreatment facility, a treatment facility quality rating, a treatmentfacility availability, a price schedule for treating damaged vehicles,treatment facility location data, or a quality rating for one or moresuppliers used by the treatment facility.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising: transmitting, by the one or more processors in theserver device, a start date and the determined cost for treating thevehicle to the automatically selected treatment facility; receiving, bythe one or more processors in the server device, a confirmation from theautomatically selected treatment facility that treatment for the vehiclewill begin on the start date for the determined cost; and when theconfirmation is not received, automatically selecting, by the one ormore processors in the server device, a different treatment facility fortreating the vehicle based on the treatment complexity level and whetherthe treatment facility will complete treatment for the vehicle at thedetermined cost.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the confirmationis not received automatically selecting a different treatment facilityfor treating the vehicle comprises automatically selecting a nexthighest ranking treatment facility for treating the vehicle.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein automatically determining the cost associatedwith treating the vehicle further comprises: generating, by the one ormore processors in the server device, a repair code from a set of repaircodes for each of the one or more damaged vehicle parts, wherein therepair code corresponds to a cost estimate for repairing or replacingthe damaged vehicle part; aggregating, by the one or more processors inthe server device, the cost estimates corresponding to the repair codesfor each of the one or more damaged vehicle parts; and calculating, bythe one or more processors in the server device, the total costassociated with treating the vehicle based on the aggregated costestimates.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically determining atreatment complexity level for treating the vehicle based on the crashinformation comprises: comparing, by the one or more processors in theserver device, the crash information to collision data of a type ofvehicle that includes the vehicle; when there is a match between thecrash information and a set of collision data, determining, by the oneor more processors in the server device, an extent of damage to one ormore damaged vehicle parts based on damage to the matching set ofcollision data; and automatically determining, by the one or moreprocessors in the server device, the treatment complexity level fortreating the vehicle based on the extent of the damage to the one ormore damaged vehicle parts.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thetreatment complexity level includes a price schedule for treating thevehicle, and a time duration for completing the treatment of thevehicle.
 11. A system for automatically streamlining a vehicle claimsprocess, the system comprising: a communication network; a client devicedisposed within a vehicle having a memory and one or more processors,the client device configured to: receive sensor data from a plurality ofsensors directly connected to the client device including a pluralityof: vehicle part position data from spatial sensors disposed within thevehicle, vehicle image data from an image capturing device disposedwithin the vehicle, vehicle acceleration data from an accelerometerdisposed within the vehicle, vehicle velocity data from a positioningdevice disposed within the vehicle, or vehicle direction data from thepositioning device; analyze the sensor data to determine crashinformation and detect a crash involving the vehicle; and transmit anindication of the detected crash for the vehicle and the crashinformation including the sensor data from the detected crash to aserver computing device; and one or more server computing devicescommunicatively coupled to the communication network, each of the one ormore server computing devices having a memory and one or more processorsand at least one of the server computing devices configured to: inresponse to receiving the indication of the detected crash for thevehicle from the client device, automatically determine a treatmentcomplexity level for treating the vehicle based on the crashinformation, wherein the treatment complexity level represents a degreeof difficulty associated with treating the vehicle, automaticallydetermine a total cost associated with treating the vehicle by:automatically identifying one or more damaged vehicle parts within thevehicle based on the crash information, assigning a cost associated witheach of the one or more damaged vehicle parts, and determining the totalcost based on each of the assigned costs associated with each of the oneor more damaged vehicle parts, automatically select a treatment facilityfor treating the vehicle based on the treatment complexity level,transmit, via the communication network, information associated withtransporting the vehicle to the selected treatment facility, and inresponse to receiving a request from an owner of the vehicle to transmitfunds, transmit, via the communication network, the funds based on thedetermined cost to an account for the owner of the vehicle.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the at least one server computing device isfurther configured to receive an authorization by the owner of thevehicle for at least one of: automatically selecting a treatmentfacility for treating the vehicle, or automatically determining a costassociated with treating the vehicle.
 13. The system of claim 11,wherein to automatically select a treatment facility for treating thevehicle, the at least one server computing device is further configuredto automatically select the treatment facility based on whether thetreatment facility will complete treatment for the vehicle at thedetermined cost.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein to automaticallyselect a treatment facility for treating the vehicle, the at least oneserver computing device is configured to: receive a plurality ofindications of treatment facilities, assign each of the plurality ofindications of treatment facilities to one of a plurality of treatmentcomplexity levels, for each of the plurality of treatment complexitylevels, rank each of the plurality of indications of treatmentfacilities assigned to the treatment complexity level based on the oneor more treatment facility evaluation characteristics, and automaticallyselect a highest ranking treatment facility for treating the vehicle.15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more treatment facilityevaluation characteristics includes at least one of: duration data forthe treatment facility, a treatment facility quality rating, a treatmentfacility availability, a price schedule for treating damaged vehicles,treatment facility location data, or a quality rating for one or moresuppliers used by the treatment facility.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the at least one server computing device is further configuredto: transmit a start date and the determined cost for treating thevehicle to the automatically selected treatment facility, receive aconfirmation from the automatically selected treatment facility thattreatment for the vehicle will begin on the start date for thedetermined cost, and when the confirmation is not received,automatically select a different treatment facility for treating thevehicle based on the treatment complexity level and whether thetreatment facility will complete treatment for the vehicle at thedetermined cost.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein when theconfirmation is not received to automatically select a differenttreatment facility for treating the damaged vehicle, the at least oneserver computing device is configured to automatically select a nexthighest ranking treatment facility for treating the vehicle.
 18. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein to automatically determine the costassociated with treating the vehicle, the at least one server computingdevice is configured to: generate a repair code from a set of repaircodes for each of the one or more damaged vehicle parts, wherein therepair code corresponds to a cost estimate for repairing or replacingthe damaged vehicle part; aggregate the cost estimates corresponding tothe repair codes for each of the one or more damaged vehicle parts; andcalculate the total cost associated with treating the vehicle based onthe aggregated cost estimates.
 19. The system of claim 11, wherein toautomatically determine a treatment complexity level for treating thevehicle based on the crash information, the at least one servercomputing device is configured to: compare the crash information tocollision data of a type of vehicle that includes the vehicle; whenthere is a match between the crash information and a set of collisiondata, determine an extent of damage to one or more damaged vehicle partsbased on damage to the matching set of collision data; and automaticallydetermine the treatment complexity level for treating the vehicle basedon the extent of the damage to the one or more damaged vehicle parts.20. The system of claim 11, wherein the treatment complexity levelincludes a price schedule for treating the vehicle, and a time durationfor completing the treatment of the vehicle.